IS Virus: Episode 2-3 - Superstrain
by tonbonkittybon
Summary: The race is on to save Phantom Task and the Top Gun of the U.K. While on the mission, Sokoto will have to restore the sanity of his own family, as well as confront his own inner demons. He knows he's one of two men to wield a woman's weapon. He also knows that a terrible conflict is happening under the Maple Leaf radar. Can Sokoto survive his trip to Hell?
1. The Long Haul

_IS Virus: Episode 2-3 - Superstrain_

 ** _-FOREWORD-_**

 _Normally, I don't make these. I stopped leaving notes around episode 3 because I didn't feel it necessary. But now I feel it is necessary, so I must address this issue._

 _To all who decided to give IS Virus a small glance, thank you. To those who read this fanfic, thank you. But if you do read it, please leave a review of what you thought about a certain chapter or episode after you read. This not only lets me know that you really do like what I'm doing, it also lets me know what questions you have, what I can improve on. If not a lot of reviews are coming in, then I won't know whether I'm really taking the series to where I want it to go. Or whether it should continue. So, if you would, please leave a review after you read and spread word about IS Virus to as many people as you can. I will try to respond to the reviews as promptly as possible. Who knows? If a certain episode get enough reviews, there may be some instances where you, the readers, decide what happens next._

 _With all that said, thank you to the few who stood by Sokoto's side from the beginning and continue to this day. There is much more in store for him when the time comes. And to those who just found this fanfic, I invited you to stick around for the long haul, and I promise you will not be disappointed. Until then, I will see you all soon._

 _NYAN NYAN~tonbonkittybon_

 _P.S.: Forewords and afterwords do not count toward the word limit._

 _Part 1: The Long Haul_

 **-NOVIA DO CORDEIRO, MINAS GERAIS-**

A gentle village of a three hundred people, surrounded by thick-skinned, sweet tangerines, banana plants, and ipe trees covered with bright yellow flowers. Technology light, rustic brick buildings, and a soothing atmosphere away from the chaos of the urban landscape. One might call this a paradise. Its residents, largely women, call it a home and a haven.

But for one resident, it's a refuge. A woman with long blonde hair in a punk rock ponytail hairstyle and a worn out collar, dressed in tattered robes, found a sort of solace in the simple life. Upon her arrival, she was welcomed by the village. Since then, she has been gathering food for the population, driving a truck into the markets of the city, and coming back with more than she could carry. But when she was not needed, she would sit quietly in her doorless room, knees hugged to her chin, wondering about the renegade. The quiet setting gave her some peace of mind to wonder about how life with him would be like. Nonstop chaos, wisecracking pranks, and breaking the rules with no regard to anyone else...that sounded like fun.

She made her home here for the next two weeks. She didn't talk very much, but seemed to get along with the folks just fine. Then, earlier today, she went into the city.

 **-10:30, 32 HOURS 30 MINUTES TO SHOWCASE-**

While she was getting extra utensils and food for lunch, she noticed that the markets were loudly chatty, even for typical crowded business place standards. She decided to find out what set the marketplace abuzz.

"Bigger load than usual, I see," an elderly woman said, "anything special you're celebrating?"

"Not really," she responded, then asked after seeing a group of men and women arguing, "What's wrong with them?"

"Haven't you heard? The renegade's in Canada."

"And?"

"They say the IS Representative of the UK was captured, stolen. And the renegade is going to save her."

Her eyes widened, "That's news to me...did he say anything else?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in."

"Oh..."

"PORQUE DEVE FAZER AINDA?!" A man screamed why the renegade should even bother, and a fight broke out.

"You know what?" the elderly woman made haste and pushed her out, "you shop here every time. No charge. Now, go!"

"But-but I could-"

"Not worth it!" The elderly woman made sure she was gone, then swiped a wooden bat, "EI CALE A BOCA! VOCÊ ESTÁ ESCOLANDO OS PÁSSAROS DESLIGADOS!"

"Tch...I could handle those burros by myself with my pinky..." she muttered while driving back to the village. Once she got there, about twenty women and five men gathered to welcome her back. "Take it easy!" She stammered, "Valencia just got married, that's all!"

"Nonsense!" A girl said, "You helped us out a lot since you came here!"

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," a grandfather told her.

"I know, but-"

"DARYL! DARYL!" A couple kids came and tackled her and ruffled her hair.

"WHAT...DO...YOU...WANT?!" Daryl shook the kids off her and grabbed their shoulders, "DARYL'S VERY BUSY!"

"Look what auntie got!" The children dragged her over to a house where a few people were installing a new flatscreen TV.

Daryl looked confused, "Don't we already have a tv?"

"Well, we have family from across the country," a man said, "this way we'll have more than enough room for everyone to squeeze in."

"Sure..." Daryl just walked away, waiting for lunch to arrive.

 **-12:00, 31 HOURS TO SHOWCASE-**

Everyone gathered around the tv to test its quality and performance. They were blown away by its half-second startup time and quality of picture. Daryl was just looking onward to see what it would show. While eating, she happened to drop her spoon on the remote, "Aw, crap!"

The channel switched to BBC WORLD , where a live chase in Canada was stretching across Ontario, with the commentators talking about that one video.

"Is he really going to save them?"

"I'll bet it's all an act."

"What I don't get is why all the police."

Were some of the things that came out of everyone's mouth, except Daryl's. She just stared at the renegade, looking a little more grown up than normal, with the wind messing with his hair, his confident smile, and those blue wonder-filled eyes. Her mind once again ran rampant with wild fantasies. She spent her time in LaLa Land while everyone else was enjoying lunch.

 **-MILLE LACS, ONTARIO PROVINCE; 12:15, 30 HOURS 45 MINUTES TO SHOWCASE-**

The truck was blazing down the highway with a huge police force behind it, under the guise of a chase.

"Look at all these beautiful people, dude!" Sokoto waved his hands.

"The more the better, I suppose!" The father shouted, then checked his GPS. The tracker stopped moving, then blanked out. "Hey! She's at Lac Mastissini! Gonna be another 10 hours before we're in the clear!"

"I thought you said 10!" Sokoto shouted back, but then he saw why he delayed arrival by 2 hours, "Are they UN guys?!"

"Think so! Get that bouncy shield thing ready!"

"Already ready!" Sokoto activated the shield and dropped it on the side of the road.

"Now, why in fucking assness would you do that?!" The father bellowed.

"I clench my fists, it grapples to me!" Sokoto said, "Figured I can unclench at the last minute and send it smacking their faces!"

Two IS special forces pilots closed in.

"Target in sight," one of them said, "Engaging." She nose dived towards the renegade.

"You wanna test that "brilliant" theory of yours now?!" The father panicked.

Sokoto aimed his fist at her and clenched, bringing the shield to him. When it got close, he released his fist and ducked. The shield was still flying, but it grazed the truck and changed trajectory, so that its edge hit the pilot squarely in the eyes. She was knocked into a complete stop. She lost half her shield energy.

"Woooo!" Sokoto cheered, "Right in the belfry!"

"Shut it, clown..." the pilot grumbled, "All units, converge on my location! Stop the renegade!"

"Incoming!" Sokoto shouted as the other pilot readied a rocket launcher.

The small sprite emerged from the bag, dazed for a second, then panicked when it saw the rocket launcher. It tried to scream, but nothing came out, except a message, "ACCESS DENIED. ALL USERS BLOCKED, MANUAL REBOOT REQUIRED." It yanked its ribbon ends down in frustration until realized that the truck was at full speed. It saw the rocket fired. It quickly fizzled out and emerged below the steering wheel, and then closed its eyes as it made a shoving motion. The brakes were floored, and the truck skidded to a slow crawl, narrowly escaping the rocket before letting go and zooming back to max speed. The sprite sighed, but it got back into panic when it looked up and saw a stream of bullets barely missing. It braked again, this time with her feet and using its wavy hand motions, steered the car into and out of the police motorcade to avoid total damage.

"The fuck?!" The father screamed.

"Nice moves, old man!" Sokoto complemented.

"That wasn't me!"

"Really?" Sokoto caught the shocked look on his face, "and I suppose the truck came alive, did it?"

The father looked at the steering wheel and saw the sprite completely exhausted, panting, and sweating like a wet towel. It held out a hand and zapped the tablet a little bit, and rejuvenated itself.

"You, uh...you can drive, right?" The father asked.

It tried to speak, but it couldn't, so it gave him two thumbs up.

"Alright," the father got his rifle, "I'm gonna die, but fuck everything and wing it." He shot at a pilot charging in, giving Sokoto an opening. He threw his shield at her and sent her back several feet.

"Yeah! How 'bout dem vampire people!" He screamed as he threw his shield again, only for it to be hammered down. He was about to get shot when the sprite slowed the truck down again, toppling him off balance and against the bed, giving the father a clear shot and hit.

"Finally, some peace and quiet!" The father exclaimed a bit too soon.

"Stand down!" A police officer yelled over a megaphone, "The renegade is not a threat! Repeat! The renegade is not a threat!"

"Oh, goddamnit..." the father groaned.

"That is not for you to decide!" A pilot shot back, "Either stay out of the way, or we will take you down too!"

A squad car let out a couple grenades. The target pilot dodged and returned fire.

"And now, this..." the father reloaded his rifle, then said to the sprite while aiming, "Whatever happens, just stay on the path..."

The sprite looked at the tablet and memorized the required path in a heartbeat. But it was spooked back to the wheel when the father fired a big one.

Sokoto stood back up, "I could've used a warning, y'know!"

"Shut up and keep flinging! We got more inbound!" The father looked over at the cars rapidly approaching them.

Then, the most out of place occurrence. Half the police motorcade sped forward to defend the truck. It was the UN vs Canada fight of the century. Canadian police keeping the international force from apprehending one of the most dangerous criminals in the world. How surreal can this get?

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming..." Sokoto mouthed before receiving a BB, "OW! What the-"

"Where are you supposed to go?!" One of the police officers yelled.

"We gotta go straight to Lac Mastissini!" The father yelled back.

"We can take you as far as the Cree town of Mistissini! Any farther, and you're on your own!"

"Fine by me!"

Two cruisers sped up and guarded the front ends of the truck, while two motorcycles guarded the rear.

"All units in Ontario and Québec," one officer spoke over the regional channel, "Renegade in pursuit of U.K. IS Representative. Renegade in black GMC truck, rimless wheels. Pursue, but do not apprehend, and do not allow anyone to touch the truck. End pursuit at Mistissini."

And thus was the scene for the entirety of the trip. The renegade, Squall's father, and (to the renegade's ignorance) the tiny yellow sprite were on their way, led and protected by Canada's police force, in opposition to the UN Task Force. Or it seemed like the UN-Sokoto couldn't tell the difference, only survival mattered. Once in a while, there were pilots and other officers who were to stop the renegade at all costs, but it wasn't enough to overcome them.

The way the police coordinated the renegade's safe arrival could be described as scary. There were cameras and trackers on every car, alerting all units to his location. Whenever he nears, all units in the area will be notified, and they will substitute for the units that have already escorted him. This was the standard for escort service, added only speed. And it served the gang well. Almost.

At one point two hours before they crossed the Québec-Ontario provincial border, the truck lost control because of a rocket misfire. Sokoto and Squall's father were flung off the highway, but the officers kept a close tire on them. The car managed to slow their skid to a stop. Squall's father kept Sokoto in his arms, shielding him from the smoke and metal debris. He rushed the both of them into the cruiser and made them hightail it. Which made it all the more exciting and chaotic in the exchanges. Instead of meeting at the same building because they assumed that the renegade was in a truck, the police cruisers met several blocks away at specific meeting points to reduce detection, meaning Sokoto and Squall's father were running for their lives to the next checkpoint, and on all occasions they had to fend off UN and U.K. capture teams.

All the while pointing out landmarks and places they've visited before. It was their way of trying to make the trip easier to swallow. They would talk about the museums they snuck into, the restaurants they emptied, they stunts they pulled during their time here. Half of which the father did not believe happened, but he was surprised when Sokoto found time to imitate them right before they smacked their face in their next transport vehicle. It was the father's way of connecting with Sokoto on a deeper level. It was also Sokoto's way of blocking out the fact that the IS was a woman's weapon, and he shouldn't have been able to use it, because if he spent any time on that, it would slow them down immensely. Sokoto resolved not to ponder the fact until he arrived at the Lac.

On a side note, the sprite was nauseous the entire trip. After the truck was totaled, it latched itself onto Sokoto's shoulder, only to puke holographic vomit, constantly due to the police car interior smell and vibrations, and worse whenever Sokoto was running.

 **-CHAPAIS, QUÉBEC PROVINCE; 23:17, 19 HOURS 43 MINUTES TO SHOWCASE-**

Things got even more interesting when they flew past Chapais. After another fight with the UN, they exchanged rides for the final time. However, this was a truck custom made for heavy duty gunfire, an armored truck with a high-powered turret. Sokoto settled in the bed of the truck quite nicely. Squall's father tensed himself up and reloaded his rifle as he took his seat in the back. The sprite hid itself in an officer's cellphone calming itself with kitten videos, and didn't come out until the truck reached the final destination. But that wouldn't be for another hour, as the truck skid its wheels and did a 720 before taking off towards the final checkpoint. As Sokoto looked through the fleeting municipality, he could see the elated faces of the people there, wishing him the best of luck. That got him thinking about Claire, how that woman in Alaska asked him to find her. He wondered if she was there with Autumn and Madoka. He shook his head, reassuring himself that she is not here, as the truck flat out jumped several cars, and onto the highway.

The truck sped down the giant route, no traffic to stop it, just a bunch of special forces with rockets, grenades, and five more pilots. Only two motorcycles assisting the renegade. The pilots dove down and prepared to take the truck. Sokoto hopped on the turret and let them have it.

"Alright, noogens!" He fired and rattled, "LEEEEEET THEEEEEEEE FIIIIIIRRRRRREEEEEEEEE RAAAAAAIIIIIIIN DOOOOOOOWWWN FROOOOOOOM THEEEEEEEEE SKYYYYYYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIY!" The turret shook as he blew away at the pilots. The police got extremely close to the enemies and shot out their tires, preventing them from trailing them any further. Squall's father didn't let up on the rifle. He fired every time they got near him. Thanks to the combined teamwork, four pilots were downed.

Unfortunately, everyone ran out of ammunition during the final stretch.

"Shit! I'm empty!" The father said.

"I got no more for the rifle!" An officer shouted.

Sokoto stopped shaking. "Turret's all cleaned out!"

An officer on a motorcycle radioed, "We only have enough for one more round on each handgun!"

"Welp," Sokoto commented, "this is the most horrifically convenient timing in the history of horrifically convenient timings." He got off the turret, landed on top of the truck, and readied his shield. The pilot drew her sword and charged towards him. "It's a blade type!" Sokoto shouted, "We can still win this!" As everyone got ready, he threw his shield at her with all his might, and she knocked it off. The father pulled out his shotgun and, with the other officers, shot the pilot, making her flinch and missed her target. She crashed in front of the truck, forcing the driver to swerve, bumping into the pilot, and careening off the road to avoid a crash. The giant hills that bordered the road carried the truck over the midline and flipped upside down. It landed on its side and skid to the entrance of Mistissini, leaving deep scars on the road. The two motorcycles managed to completely avoid damage. Sokoto was conked out when his head hit the signpost. But then he had the strangest dream ever.

 **-UNKNOWN-**

When he came to, he found himself in that same blue sky, randomly sparse clouds reflection pool from earlier. He checked his head for any injuries. No damage.

"Uh..." he hesitated, "am I dead?..."

"No!" A cheerful preteen female voice answered, "Just bonked your head, is all!"

"Huseydat?!" Sokoto looked behind, in front, above, "Hello?! Olly olly oxen free!" Suddenly, he was hit by a pebble. He angrily turned to face the thing who threw it, "The hell'd ya do that for?!" He was immediately stunned by what he saw.

A girl, barely taller than he, dressed in an oddly designed yellow, black, and white school uniform, with a ribbon tied to her hair in a way that looked like bunny ears, hanging from a giant leafless tree, waved at him. She dropped to the water and ran to him, then patted his shoulder. "Sorry if my outfit's a little skimpy," she said, "but it allows me to do this!" She did three splits in three ways, and propped up waiting for a response.

"Uhhhh..." was all he said.

"Shhh..." she tapped her finger to his lips and winked while doing a cutesy pose, "All will be revealed in time." She moved her finger to her lips, "For now, just play along."

"...huh..." he finished.

"So, you made quite a name for yourself, I hear," she said while doing motions, "THE RENEGADE. So edgy and rebel."

"Yeah, you could say that..."

"And then you go from punching Japan in the gut to finding a remedial cure for Canada! Unpredictable in every way!" She grabbed his shoulders, "You gotta tell me! How's it feel to screw those people in the brains?!"

"Pretty awesome to be honest...though I still can get around being the second guy to pi-"

"That's the best thing!"

"-lot..."

"I'm still geeking out over it! You're gonna save the very people who hate you! How do you do it?"

"Hate me? Wait, Madoka and Autumn?"

"Well...I thought you knew."

"Know what?"

"They wanted you to love them, but you got all wrapped up in this Heroes of Canada business that you'd forget whatever you learned the previous hour."

Sokoto froze. That was his biggest problem. The one thing keeping him from nailing this adventure in the coffin. That's why Madoka left the room. He looked at his hands. What was his biggest takeaway from this whole adventure? He doesn't know.

"Hey, don't look so down," she put her forehead to his, "It's a step by step. You just gotta take it one thing at a time, y'know? Everything has already been shoved in your face. No need to rush it. No one's gonna take it away. It's all yours to inhale."

"Well...ok, if you say so..." he knew the rest of the mission would be carried out on foot, meaning it got that much harder to stay focused- "Oh! Aren't we gonna get back to...Mass...Mista...Mammaslamma-"

"Mistissini," she pointed to him, "get it right."

"Right, the...Mist."

"Sure, but prepare yourself," she said as the environment slowly reverted back to the place he was in before he blanked out, "a big friend of yours is on the fritz..."

"On the fritz? Who could-" before he could finish his question, he was sent back to the real world, where he got his answer.

 **-MISTISSINI CLINICAL LODGE, QUÉBEC PROVINCE; 01:31, 17 HOURS 29 MINUTES TO SHOWCASE-**

Sokoto woke up on a bed in a lodge. He steadied himself upright and rubbed his head, "Ugh..what happened...what did I-"

He was rattled by what he saw in front of him. Three policewomen surrounding Squall's father, who was in a coma.

"No," he ran to his side, "no! No! NO! NO!"

"Hey! Easy!" An officer held him back, "This is a hassle we don't need!"

"Why not! Why can't I-"

"LISTEN!" She slapped him. He took a second to recollect himself after the initial shock, then listen as she ranted, "Listen...your friend said something...he said he's Squall's father...he also said he saw her in you. He saw his own daughter. That's why you can't afford to break down now. He's just in a coma, he isn't dead."

He sensed that aura. It's still pulsing, but barely. He seriously wanted to hug him, but the officer pulled him back to her.

"If you are telling the truth," she sternly told him off, "If you do want to save your friends, you need to go now. The UN will be here in 10 minutes. After that, we don't know what will happen. You need to stay focused. And you have to hurry. We don't have time."

He looked in her eyes, then back at the father. He finally understood what he meant. Why he flipped out when he saw him on the bed. He reassured himself that he had to save the three ladies, otherwise he father's sacrifice would be for nil. He has to go.

"Just gimme ten seconds," he said.

"Time him," the officer said.

Sokoto had to make this quick. He ran to the bed and, "For lack of better words..." kissed him, "...Be seeing you, father." While making to the door, he waved his hand over his bracelet to call forth his shield. He stopped at the door and told the policewomen, beet red, "Make sure he's healed when I come back." And with that, he was gone.

Leaving the surviving officers to ponder...

"When he comes back?"

"We'll be long gone by then..."

"This kid...the hell is he?"

"I don't know, I don't care."

"Girls? We got trouble." The policewomen saw a bright light approaching them.

"Yeah, I'm calling it," one of them readied her gun, "Those guys who chased him throughout...there's no way they're UN..."

Meanwhile, Sokoto has left the town and headed off into the forest to find the Lac Autumn was holed in. More determined than ever to set things right with himself, he decided to use this mission to process everything that has been shoved down his throat this past week. But to do that, he thought, he needed help. So, while keeping his aura sensitivity on high, and hiding in the many shrubs and trees, he turned to the one person...thing...that gave him comfort through this trip.

"Ok, Silvia. Whaddaya say we play a word association game? I'm thinking revenge movie characters."

And then, he would have sworn he heard a voice inside his head.

"Ooh! I'll go first! John Wick!"

"Dammit, you took a good one. Uh...Carrie."

"No, that's a horror movie character!"

"But she got her revenge on those bullies, she did."

"Yeah, true...Bryan Mills!"

And the game continued all the way to Lac Mistassini. With a tiny message emitting from behind his collar:

MANUAL REBOOT ACTIVATED. USER RECOGNIZED: SOKOTO. REFORMATTING TO USER PREFERENCES. DATA RECOVERED 27%.


	2. Y U NO ICE'E!

_Part 2: Y u no Ice'e?!_

 **-LAC MISTASSINI, 03:12-**

The night sky. The stars were dancing with the moon.

"Dude, we're ADD'ing more than hyper fan girls at a K-POP backstage exclusive pass!"

And Sokoto continued the banter with his new imaginary friend who just so happened to have a real voice, "Heheh, we do crazy things when we're alone."

The sprite popped up from his shoulder and got her voice across, "Unfortunately, I have won all our games. So, pay up!"

"Be thankful that I'm looking for a way out, otherwise I would've creamed you."

"Woulda, shoulda, coulda, pal-AIEEEE-OOF!" The sprite felt a shockwave push her off and into the dirt. She pulled her head out, "What?! Petty revenge for kicking your words?!"

"How do I go over there?"

The sprite looked where he was pointing, "Oh."

They were overlooking an opening into the Mistassini lake. The problem was that it surrounded them on three sides.

"This would be so much easier if we could go full on badass mode right now," he groaned.

"You got that shield thingy, don't you?" The sprite said, "It can come to you. Can you make yourself go to it?" She fizzled out.

He looked at his shield, then at the lake, "Yeah, but where to grapple onto?..."

Then all of a sudden, a chill shook his spine.

"You ok?" The sprite looked up at him, "You got the chills?"

"The aural kind...Someone's behind us..."

The sprite fizzled to his shoulder. He flung his shield at the aura. It was caught. He tried to recall it, but the grip on the shield was so strong, he ended up being grappled to it. He just held on tight as he prepared to kick whoever has him.

"Easy, blubber ball!" She caught his foot.

"Forte?!" He quickly got off and landed in front of her, "First you rave, then you rage, now what?!"

"I didn't do that for no reason," Forte said, "I just needed to get my frustrations out, that's all."

"Uh-huh, sure," he recalled his shield and flung it at Forte again. She slammed her halberd down and destroyed it.

"That's enough, Sokoto! Can we talk this over?" She regained her senses after the swing.

"With what you did to Autumn? Fucking why!" He got ready to fight, but she prepared her Freeze Lancer.

"Because your IS is stuck in lockout," she said, "and given what's behind me, you wouldn't have a choice, would you?"

There it was. Certain death staring him in the eyes. A thousand ice crystals ready to slice through his flesh, and he idiotically flung himself to an open clearing, near the edge of the water. He had no choice.

"Fine," he deactivated his bracelet and made his shield disappear, "What do you want?"

Forte just walked forward and held out her hand. The nanotechnolgically-empowered ice crystals rained down upon the water and collided with each other and the water particles, grinding against each other and solidifying to create an ice boat.

"Just talk," her aura changed to something a little warmer, "Besides, don't you wanna see Autumn again?"

He turned a confused look to the sprite, "Sil?"

"Don't ask me," the sprite responded, "I don't know her."

He shrugged and sat in the boat while Forte used her halberd as a row. He was uneasy about this assistance, as if he felt like was was owed an immense amount of money, while she hummed along with the gentle waves.

"So, how do you like Canada?" Forte asked.

Sokoto thought for a second and said, "Well, other than the fact that I was suddenly talking to a ghost figurine, ("HEY!" Silvia snapped.) it's been a hell of an adventure."

"I gather. You've been seducing women and men across the country! How do you do it?"

"I dunno! Canada ain't got a pilot for a long time now! And I'm just now getting over the fact that I've been piloting a woman's weapon!...was piloting..."

"So, you know."

"Know what?"

"Why I'm really here..."

"No, I don't."

Forte raised an eyebrow. She set the halberd down and sat in front of him. "Remember me saying Daryl's the last Meusel?"

"What about?"

"Well, she and I had a thing going for us. We started off as classmates, then friends, then lovers. She was conniving, cold blooded, ruthlessly cool. The perfect one for me. She was a member of Phantom Task, mentored by Squall herself."

"So, she grew attached to Squall?"

"Yeah. Even asked for a code name because Squall's sister married someone with a different last name before she x'd her. She gave her the name Rain Meusel."

"What happened after Phantom Task got disbanded?"

"She and I would scour the world together. Sometimes we bumped into her. Sometimes we called her up. Then one day, she stopped connecting with us. We found out that Autumn had been torturing her up until the moment you came into the spotlight. She started to talk to us again, and we were determined to find out everything about you since she's taken a liking to you."

"Then when Squall got shanked, Daryl just...vanished?"

"Yeah. Figured I would get you to help me get her back."

"Why me?"

"Through the constant banter, Daryl found that Squall put a part of herself in you. Therefore, she sees you as you and Squall."

"...Huh?"

"Not kidding. And she's looking to claim that piece for herself."

"Ok. Even if I were to believe all that, where do you fit in this crazy picture? And clarify the word "torture.""

"Well..." she crossed her thumbs, "I'm looking to fill the hole that Autumn left in us."

"What hole?"

"She tortured Squall, mentally and physically."

Sokoto looked at her puzzled, "She never told me that..."

"A lot of shit she doesn't say. But Autumn got to her, and kept her as a pet. All those scars she got on her body. It's all Autumn. It's only a matter of time before she does it to you."

"What?"

"Listen to me. She's been losing it the moment Phantom Task was over. She is stuck on this petty revenge with Squall. She nearly got her wish. Now that the opportunity has been stolen from her, she's coming after you."

"What about her hanging out with me? Her mission? Did she tell you I gotta go to London?"

"It's all an act. A false promise to lure you into a trap. She still has contacts there. As soon as you set foot in London, they will turn you into a slave. They can't stand the idea of a male taking the stride of women. They want you gone."

"So, you...with Autumn..."

"The same thing you want. Revenge."

He felt compelled, "But...that other male...he stabbed her..."

Forte grasped his cheek, "But who was closest to her and could've save the both of them?"

Sokoto never got a good look at before what happened before. But he could remember see ghastly faces throughout. And when he turned to face Squall's killer...Forte probably meant to say that as a trigger to make him consider her proposal. She probably had no idea how 100% right she was.

Silvia sat on the halberd's hilt. She saw his anger growing by the second. She did not want to say anything to ruin the moment or divert the drama anywhere else. She just waited.

"Alright..." Sokoto said after a deep breath, "What'd you have in mind?"

Then, Forte got in close and whispered in his ear, "Remember what I said about letting you in through the back?" She moved one of his hands to her...skirt... "I wasn't joking."

Sokoto definitely did not expect this. He got a taste of how insatiable women could be just a few days ago. This is that entire experience bottled up into one person! Forte went from murder crazy to personal crazy to lust crazy in what seemed like a few hours! How did she switch gears like that?!

Hold up. How DID she switch gears like that?...Something about her aural shifts was off putting for-oh fuck, here we go. It was test time, "What do you mean?"

She took his head in her chest, "Come away with me. Right now."

"Why?"

"Daryl's in need of a complete family. You're the only person who can bring her back. And I plan on making sure we can stay together as a real family, not a broken one." She looked him in the eyes, "We are not wanted by the world. We're just tools. We can be anyone. We can do anything." And they shared a kiss. A wet one. For a minute. And this whole time, Silvia went through four orders of XL popcorn and two XXL sodas.

When they finally released, Forte thought she had him right where she wanted him. Sokoto looked that way, with those eyes or wonder. Eyes that hid his true intentions. He asked the test question: "What about the others?"

"Forget the others. They don't mean anything to you. Just like you don't mean anything to them. Let's forget all this. Let's go. Right now."

And there it was. The answer that told him everything. Forte was just plain selfish, which to be honest was a better excuse than what those guys told him.

He pushed her chest away and just straight up told her, "No way."

Forte just stared blankly as he took her hands off him, "What?"

He took her hands in his and set them on her lap, and looked up to her eyes to appeal to her true emotions and draw them out, "Look. I know you're hurting, and I know you're looking for a way to cope with these...shankified winds of change. But you're not the only one. Autumn's coping with it too."

"But...she tortured...and abandoned her..."

"And she forgave her. Autumn just wanted to hear her say sorry, and that's exactly what happened. I was there at the very end. She accepted her blessing."

Forte was a little disturbed, but remained calm as she listened to his monologue.

He kept going, "And if what you said is true, then regardless of whether or not I jump ship now, I'll run into Daryl one way or another. So I can see about her issues myself. And with the chaos going worldwide, she's definitely going to be attracted enough to come to me. Or, after I'm finished here, I'll go to her."

Forte slowly withdrew her hands.

He just kept going, "Point is, I'm not going to leave them. Not when they're at their lowest. Phantom Task used to be terrorism for the sake of terrorism. That's weak. I'm gonna find a new purpose for it. And the first step is redemption. And fuck anyone that says they can't be redeemed. Squall made it through mere moments before she died. Madoka and Autumn were both on the right path before I went back on them...somehow. They're the only people I know. And I'm not gonna just turn my back on them for someone I know is coming my way anyway." He scooted back some, "I'm sorry... but I'm not going anywhere."

Forte just sat silent. She absorbed every word he said. She took in his true words, and her own feelings. Sokoto looked on with anticipation, as if expecting something to go wrong. As if he knew that she couldn't stand it. The thought of her perfect little world being ruined by someone who was also not right in the mind.

Silvia threw her popcorn and soda out. The sheer silence of the two pilots accompanied only by the gentle swishing of the lake made, after everything that was blown out of their mouths, made everything eerie. She jumped up and down waiting for someone to say something. Which is exactly what she got.

"Ok..." Forte said giving a sorrowful gaze at Sokoto, "I understand..."

But her aura didn't. The instant she finished saying that, she put her hand out and generated another Freeze Lancer. Silvia saw the giant portal behind Forte and fizzled to the shield bracelet and activated it. He saw the hand and reached into his pocket and threw the only Canceller for a hundred miles. It strapped itself onto her hand the same instant the ice crystals shot out from behind Forte. Sokoto put his shield up to defend himself, but some of the crystals destroyed the boat, propelling everyone upward. He used the collision of the crystals against his shield to gain considerable distance between himself and Forte. But it wasn't enough to get him on dry land. Everyone took a dip in the cold lake.

Silvia was the first to surface. She holographed herself encased in an ice pickle, chattering her teeth at light speed, "Aaammmmiiiiiirrreeeeeaaaaddddddddyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeetttttttttt?????????"

ALL DATA RECOVERED. MERGING DATA SETS: DELETING USER INFO TABANE, IMPORTING CONFIGURATIONS AND USER PREFERENCES.

"WHAT?!" She shattered the ice, "OH MY GOD, I'M SLOWER THAN A MAC!"

"UGH! Silvia!" Sokoto surfaced, "We gotta get over there!"

"Where?"

"There!" Sokoto pointed to the north, "I'm reading a really faint aura from thataway!"

Silvia fizzled to his shoulder, "You sure it's that way?"

"Yeah," Sokoto gasped, "If I'm feeling it out here, imagine what's it'll be like when I actually find it-HAAGGHHHHHH..."

"Hey, what's wrong?!" Silvia started to shiver too.

Sokoto got hit with the chills from the lake and from Forte. She came up and immediately went after him, "You! I have you a chance! I would've given you everything!"

"Oh, cripes..." he swam for his life.

"You could've had it all!" Forte screamed, "A woman with a rocking body who's not psycho! A life where you could've done whatever you wanted! Go wherever you wanted! Without chaining yourself to dead weight!"

"She's catching up!" Silvia freaked.

Not once in his life did Sokoto ever try swinging in cold waters. It felt like the lake was eating his body away bit by bit with each stroke he took. Still, he kept swimming and shouting, "You think I care about all that?! Man, you don't know what I want at all!"

"I know exactly what you want! I'm the only one who knows what you crave! Only I can satisfy your cravings, not those lazy bitches!"

"Use your shield thing already!" Silvia shouted at Sokoto, "You're close enough!"

"Are you kidding?! I'll drown!" Sokoto snapped.

Until he sensed Forte's aura getting more feral by the second, "But, no! You'd rather hold yourself back! You rather abandon your only flesh and blood, turning to those freaks of hell!"

Sokoto took a quick look at his surroundings and found two trees with a gap just wide enough to catch the shield. If he can throw it correctly. If. "Yep, shield," he said as he called his shield out once more and threw it at the trees. It missed.

"If you're not going to be our salvation," Forte screamed, "the least you could do is be our last meal!" She was an entire football field away from him, and she was closing the distance fast.

"Sokiiiii..." Silvia hid inside his hair.

"I know!" He got it back and tried again. This time, it hit one of the trees, "Fuck!" He screamed. He checked the distance again. She was mere yards away. He recalled his shield at took his time to aim. He fought through the frost bite and inhaled. He threw it one last time.

It skidded the water for a second, then dig itself within the gap between the trees. It was stuck facing the forest, so he could grapple to it safely.

"YES!" He and Silvia shouted too soon. Forte wrapped her hands around his neck and dunked his head in the water. He wasted his strength trying to aim the shield right. He had nothing left to fend her off. He struggled with all his might, to no avail. He closed his eyes, grabbed her forearms, and threw his feet back at her gut. She was so winded by the kick that she took a dip just to freeze her mind and shock her body back to normal. He clenched his left wrist and prepared to launch himself out of the fray. She saw the Canceller and slammed it twice with her fists and broke it. She ripped it off and tried to slam her halberd down at him. It was able to slice the water with little effort, but it couldn't catch Sokoto in time. Only the very top was able to nick him. He was able to grapple away from Forte. He was able to reclaim his shield, but he didn't see what was up ahead: a tree, from which he was protected from full impact that destroyed his shield, and a second tree which he slammed his back against, followed by several bushes, and plenty of dirt. By the time he stopped rolling and caught his breath, he felt weakened and frozen.

"Onii-chan!" Silvia screamed, "Hey! Onii-chan!"

"Run..." Sokoto panted, "Save...your...self..."

Silvia looked up to the moon. Forte was covering the view. She went into free fall to finish off the renegade.

Silvia screamed, "SOMEONE HELP!"

Right before Forte was able to end his life, someone kicked him out of the way and took the hit for him. But instead of blood, it was water. She disintegrated into water after she was hit.

"What-" Forte received a lance stab that sent her back in the water.

Sokoto rolled to a stop. Someone came to undress him and dry him off.

"Uh..." Silvia said, "Someone helped..."

"RRRRAAAAAAAAGH!" Forte became consumed with rage and lashed out at her opponent, who held her back with a stream of bullets firing from her lance, then stabbed and hammered her with three hits.

"Ugh..." Forte steadied herself, "I never would have guessed you'd still be a prick..."

"Aww," Tatenashi taunted, "Are you still mad I gave your first IS to Russia?"

"Actually, I'm very grateful," Forte charged her Freeze Lancer, "because you've allowed me to play with an even better toy!" She fired on the renegade, but Tatenashi got in the way and manipulated a makeshift barrier to protect him. But Forte snuck under the barrier and got in a good hit to Tatenashi's side.

"The Celsius's Tear?!" Tatenashi blurted, "Who did Bandai Namco stupefy to get an endorsement like that?!"

The clone finished drying Sokoto off. He came to his senses and saw Forte fighting Tatenashi. He tried to get up, but the icy sharp wound to his butt nearly immobilized him. The clone grabbed his shoulder and picked the ice off of him, making it a little more bearable. It then wrapped a backpack around him, containing everything he will need until he gets to his destination.

"Ngh...thanks..." Sokoto muttered.

The clone gave him a cutesy salute before disintegrating into water.

"Holy shit!" Sokoto exclaimed.

"We have to go, Onii-chan!" Silvia urged.

"Uh...right..." Sokoto darted off, leaving two utterly helpless psychopaths alone in the freezing cold.

 **-09:37-**

"Ooooooniiiiiiiiii-chaaaaaaan..." Silvia groaned on Sokoto's shoulder, "I'm tiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrred..."

"How?" Sokoto muttered, "You're a sprite. You shouldn't be tired."

"Aaaagh..."

"I haven't seen or felt any asspulls lately..."

"Maybe because they're just as tired as I am..." Silvia checked on her status once more:

DATA MERGE COMPLETE. FINALIZING REGISTRY AND COMPATIBILITY.

"Hurry the hell up..." Silvia facepalmed.

"Hurry who?..." Sokoto said before sensing a stronger aura when he wished he hadn't, "And look at that. There's the island I'm looking for."

"Really?" Silvia jumped, "We're here?"

Nope. He could sense a particularly strong aura of despair and loneliness...on the island that's far behind the island to the left of them. Both of which were surrounded by water, a lot of it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Silvia fizzled to a tre and head butted it, "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOO!"

"Say," Sokoto leaned his head on her, "Didn't you say you were tired?" And flicked her towards the nearest log.

She piled up a lot of dirt before sliding to a stop. She picked her head off the ground and stared at the giant thing smacking her in the face, "...LOG BOAT!"

That gave him an idea. He check the backpack for something to make it easier to force down the hill, when he found a hatchet. He spent half an hour cutting down the log until he could push it down and mount it like a gondola. He swiped the nearest branch and hopped on.

 **-10:20-**

They rode comfortably on the log, with Sokoto using the hatchet as a steering device and the branch as a speed device.

Silvia had herself a dip in the water before flipping onto the log like a fish. She stretched herself out, "Ahhhhhh...much better..."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Sokoto said, "It'll be another hour before we touch down."

"Neat-o!" Silvia sighed, "Hahhhhhhh..."

"Still wondering why those creeper guys haven't come in yet..."

Silvia manifested a blindfold, "If they shoot us down now, I'm gonna scream."

Sokoto cringed at the possibility. They've had so many in your face out of nowhere moments that they stopped getting surprised. But this was one surprise he wished wouldn't happen.

Silvia sighed before asking, "What do you really think of Forte?"

"Hmm? That came out of nowhere..."

"Yeah, but I'm just curious."

"Well... she can be charming when she wants to be. She's a sweet talker, damn near manipulating. Yeah, she's a dangerous one."

"And what she said about Autumn?"

"She told the truth, but not the whole truth. She's stuck on REVENGEANCE mode. She has to learn to let go."

"Think you'll let go of the person who killed Squall?"

"...I have no idea."

"Well...AAAHHHHH...wake me up when we get there..." and Silvia fell asleep.

Sokoto finally made his decision to expend his energy on getting his sisters out. But he never got around to wondering why only women should be able to pilot an IS. Why did Silvia accept him as her pilot? How could she communicate with him so freely? He racked his head trying to find an answer the entire trip. The closest thing he had to an answer had to do with the purity of spirit. He thought the body was just a body. Without a soul, it's just limbs and farts. The IS could read a person's unconscious thoughts, could it? Well, that was the only thing keeping him from sleeping on the log.

 **-11:27-**

And just what he needed, too. They touched down on a hillside, hid among the bushes, and walked all the way up to a clearing. Where among the forestry and the dripping dew, they got the biggest shock of their lives.

"GAK...ugh..." Sokoto felt like he had a heart attack.

"What's wrong?" Silvia looked worried.

"Aw, fuck me...it's not just Madoka and Autumn and Cootie Woman..."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"I mean, if it's just those three, the aura should be a lot smaller...I got a tingle in my spine before I left Mastispazzini..."

"So, how are we gonna do this?"

"Dunno...I think all other sides are like this...so, let's just knock."

"What?!" Are you crazy?!"

"Yep," he called his shield out and threw it at the giant door. A loud clang sounded throughout the island.

"Who's there?!" A man called through the intercom.

"The renegade!" Sokoto stepped out into the clearing, "I've come for Autumn, Cecilia, and Madoka! Release them now!"

The environment stood still in a moment of silence. Then the man came back on and said, "Ok. Stand by." The metal door slowly creaked open. Sokoto couldn't see anything until it was completely open.

It was Madoka, fully deployed in the Black Knight. "Been a while," she said.

"Yeah," he responded, sensing her aura unchanged, "heard you walked out."

"In a way, yeah."

Silvia noticed something odd about Madoka's face, "What's with the mask?"

"Oh?" Madoka smirked, "Didn't he tell you?"

Sokoto pondered before realizing what that meant, "You didn't..."

"No," she deployed her Twin Lance, "I had help."

"Crap...not now..." Sokoto ran forward to prepare for her attack.

But Madoka fired her lance blasts at him sooner than he could properly react. His shield didn't last long, and by the time the blast subsided, it was obliterated, and he was blown back against the tree. Madoka then rushed him and brutally punched his stomach. He threw up some air as he dropped to his knees and clutched his stomach.

"What's the matter?" Madoka taunted, "I thought you could take it."

Sokoto hacked a bit, "...it's...quite a bit of pain..."

"A meager amount..." she picked him up by the hair, "compared to the pain I still feel." She slammed him against the dirt. He struggled all the way back on his feet. She put away her blades and knocked him down, "The pain of being left alone! The pain of being cast aside, being the unwanted child!" Each word she said made her hit harder, until she lost herself in her rage and pounded the ever loving shit out of him, till she picked him back up and spat in his face, "You know what it's like to lose your identity because you look like someone who's better than you?"

"A little bit..." he sputtered blood before being kicked down. He was still able to move, so he propped himself in all fours, just in time to see Madoka's deathly walk.

"No..." Silvia whispered, "It can't end like this..."

"Get behind me..." he said as he turned to face her.

She took her sword out once more, "It's a horrible pain..." she stood over him, "A pain you'll feel in just a second." She plunged her sword downward to his body.

Only for it to be stopped by a metal gauntlet.

She looked absolutely horrified.

"...A petty pain...if you ask me..."

...What was she last heard before she was blasted with energy in the face.


	3. Time Off!

_Part 3: Time Off!_

 **-THE REFLECTION POOL-**

Sokoto was laying face up in that pool again. He was in a trance from what just happened outside. He couldn't respond without making them angrier. He stared at the clouds, wondering how he can save them when it's clear they rejected him.

"Quite unlike you to be brooding," Silvia walked in and sat beside him, "She only expressed her pain, and already you've counted yourself out."

"I know..." he sighed, "But it's just...I can't help it. She's so deep in her rage. I dunno if I can pull her out. I could if I could still go into IS mode..."

"Well, you pulled me outta my slump without going IS crazy."

"Hmm?"

"It was different because you didn't just wander in. You heard me call. But here, they don't want to call, and you are still going to save them."

"Yeah, I did say that. But what if they want to die instead?"

"Simple. Deny. Do not let them die at all. If they beg for it, you punch them in the throat."

"That's morbid..."

"It's kinda your thoughts, too, ya know."

"Yeah..."

Silvia laid beside him, "But...are you prepared to do that? The punch their throats thing?"

"I've been thinking...maybe they're not the only throats to punch. This weapon. The IS. Only women should be able to use it. Why? And why me? I think Tabane done fucked it up, and the women could've unfucked it, but decided to fuck it up even more. I'm gonna find out what happened, why the world is the way it is. And I'll tear everything inside out to get my answers if I have to."

Silvia took in every word he said, "You as Lin that, or did you rehearse it?"

"Ehhh?" Sokoto mulled.

"Heheheh, just joking!" Silvia stood up, "Alright, since you've made up your mind, come on."

"Hm?" Sokoto got up, "Where we going?"

"Oh, just a little fight we gotta sort out," Silvia winked. Sokoto was confused, but followed her anyway. And then, a bright light encompassed them and warmed their bodies.

 **-LAC MISTASSINI, 11:39-**

REBOOT COMPLETE. SYSTEMS GREEN. ADVANCING GUARD, ONE-OFF ABILITY ACTIVATED. PREPARE FOR COMBAT.

Madoka was pushed back into the compound. She quickly recovered and looked up at the surprise impact that caused her to topple. A mixture of horror and seething anger swelled inside her as she came to terms with the present.

The Silver Streamline was back in action. The angel emitted static shockwaves from its wings, threatening anyone who came near. And at its helm, was the renegade himself. On his right shoulder, the sprite known as Silvia. All three, encompassed in a shining golden glow, spoke with one unified voice:

"You who possess an incurable heart...move, or you will be moved."

Madoka became furious. This was not supposed to happen here. How did he release the Streamline? Did she accidentally goad him into unlocking it? If so, then this was a serious mistake on her part. She had to correct it. She unsheathed her Twin Lamce and lunged at him with everything she had. But he easily got in between the blades, plunged his hand into her face, and floored his Ignition Boost. He dragged her into the compound, shoving her in every floor and wall the more she struggled, then everything happened so fast she lost track of even her own pace. She was thrown upwards and kicked to the end of the corridor, followed by a flurry of punches and kicks, during which she could only land a glancing hit by accident. After that, she was chopped in the throat and kicked aside.

He rushed her again and stole a lance when she hit the ground. He then hovered above her, used the weapon ability and fired a massive energy blast powerful enough to cover her entire body and destroy all her shield bits. He stopped to IB Stomp her and kick her back several yards.

She was not doing well. Even in an IS, she was not supposed to feel this much pain. Something was horribly wrong with this fight. She knew her own anger very well, and she knew it did not come close to this. She knew she much preferred to toy around with her opponents and finish them off rather than have a friendly gestured battle.

Well, right now, he was her, if she didn't want to toy with her opponents and just wanted to squeeze as much blood from them as possible.

Yet another copy of her. When will it end? She doesn't know, and for that her rage returned.

Silvia pointed behind Madoka, "Autumn and Cecilia are that way, to the left. 25 kidnapped people right across from them."

"Understood," Sokoto said as he walked forward and, along with Silvia and the Streamline, said to Madoka, "Stand aside. Final warning."

Madoka gnawed, "Over your dead BODY!" She rocketed forward and launched her Sonic Thrust Blast.

He sidestepped and shoved his grapple hook into the tip of her blade. Then he quickly moved in her way and positioned the blade he stole...in a way that without the Absolute Defense Barrier, it would've gone right through her stomach and exited her spine. The sword crashed into the barrier and, together with its following energy blast, drained whatever shield energy she had left. With his free hand, he punched her daylights off and shattered her helmet. She lay on the ground unconscious.

And just to get a sense of how powerful the Streamline was, everything in that last paragraph happened within one second.

"We warned you," the angel walked to her head and knelt, "Now you pay the pri-" right when it ripped her mask off, the glow disappeared and the angel went back to its regular from of Skkoto and Silvia.

"HOLY FUCK, WOMAN! ECH-" Sokoto retched, "Ugh...why..."

"At least she's still aliiieeeeuch~" Silvia holographic vomited.

"Well...at least she can get a different face now..."

Just then, an alarm blared, "INTRUDER. INTRUDER."

"NOW they find us!" Silvia facepalmed.

"Fashionably late, my ass," Sokoto heaved Madoka on his shoulder and pressed ahead, "Where are they again?"

"First two left doors!" Silvia pointed.

Sokoto shot his grappling hook at the first door he saw. The door was destroyed and revealed several men with many inhumane tools of torture. Before any of them could talk, he used his hook to kill them all. He retracted the Streamline after he was done.

"Sil, keep an eye on M for me," he said as he walked to the chained Autumn. She fizzled to the limp body while he woke Autumn up.

"Hey, Autumn," he stroked her cheek, "Autumn, wake up."

"Nnn..." Autumn slowly came to, "Uhhhh...Sokoto?..."

"Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here..."

"I came to get you outta here," he destroyed her bonds and caught her when she fell.

She was dazed until she looked into his eyes. "Oh, Sokoto!" She rejoiced and bear hugged him, "I knew it! They said you abandoned me, but I knew you would come!"

"Hey...you're gonna...squeeze your brother...to death..." he choked.

"Huh?" She stopped and stared.

"Yeah...aren't we a family or something?..."

"Of course..." she gently hugged him, "I got a little too excited...They said all these false things and nearly got to molding me into a slave...but you came..."

"Wait, slave?" Sokoto pushed, "What were they doing here again?"

"You'll find out in the next door over," Autumn undid her Canceller, "These men here, they're crazy good. They can warp girls' minds in the blink of an eye."

"In just one day?"

"Yeah. They break their pride as pilots. After that, it's all downhill."

"Onii-chan! Onee-sama!" Silvia shrieked, "They're coming!"

"I'll hold them off," Autumn deployed her Shinomure, "Go get Cootie Woman and let's end this."

"Be careful of Madoka," he hugged her, "She's not right in her mind."

"I know," Autumn left the door and confronted the guards that awaited her, "Go get'em, tiger."

Sokoto chuckled, deployed the Streamline and barged through the door and waylaid almost all the guards there. Autumn followed behind and wind bladed the people far away. A guard came up and confronted Sokoto.

"Why the hell are you with them?!" He demanded, "We are al war with these sows! We should be the dominant force! Why are you siding with them?!"

"Oh, forgive me for not being MAN enough," Sokoto readied his grappling hook, "and for being too HUMAN! (Pronounced hue-man)" He fired, ending that guard's life. Then he jumped into the next door, shredding his way to Cecilia's holding room.

And he immediately thought Autumn's room was on easy mode. "Aw, dammit...fucking difficulty spikes..." It went from easy to insane in two minutes.

The room was foul smelling. White gooey crusty stuff everywhere. And in the center, lay the Top Gun, Cecilia, completely exposed, still breathing dead air as she has descended to rock bottom.

He retracted his IS, covered his nose and tiptoed to her, "Hey! Hey!" He nudged her with his toe, "We gotta move!" He kept nudging her until she twitched her fingers. He leaped back and unwittingly shut the door behind him, effectively preventing his departure until he accomplished his goal here.

"Nnn..." she slowly turned her head to her new guest, "Ichika...Ichika...is that you..."

"Each-who?" Sokoto stammered.

Cecilia creepily rotated her body on all fours, "It is you, Ichika...I've waited so long for you..."

"No, it's-D'AH! My hair!" Sokoto clamped his head. The musty frizz from must've thickened and dampened the air, and in turn put his hair down. And the room is only illuminated by that door window, so his physical features are blackened out. He started to panic. Her aura was a mess. Someone jumbled up her insides to the point where he cannot repair the damage. He was now at her mercy.

"No...it is you...how can you not be..." Cecilia crawled closer, "I see you...You're here in front of me..."

"Lady, you're deluded. They did something to your brain! Get ahold of yourself!"

"No...you would reject me? Even after all we've been through?" She got within an inch of Sokoto's nose and caressed his neck, "Even after all the moments we shared?"

"Get away, crazy peacock!" He pushed her off. But that only held her in place and got his fingers in her mouth. "GODDAMMIT WOMAN WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

"Even in this horrid place..." she kept licking, "your hands taste so good..."

"EEP!" Sokoto stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Listen..." Cecilia only came closer, "I know you have another...but let's share this moment..." she moved his hands...really moved his hands, "Even though I've been defiled...even though I'm worthless now...will you take me as I am...a mere plaything..."

Sokoto was too wrapped up on what's covering his head to listen. "GET'EM OFFA MEEEEEEEE!" He slapped her off him and rolled on the floor, "Ohohoho, cooties! Cooties all over me! Cooties! Cooties! Cooties the bad cooties! Coot-huh?" He sensed a sharp aural shift from her.

"...why..." Cecilia teared up, "...even though I'm offering myself to you for your own enjoyment...even though I've thrown everything away just to be with you..."

Oops. Sokoto fucked with a woman's heart again. He face palmed himself.

"I see..." Cecilia turned away, "It's because I gave up everything that I'm a worthless cunt...I've devolved into this...this...grotesque shell of a woman..."

"No, it's not that..." Sokoto was rattling his brain for a possible escape, "It's just...well..."

"Just what?..." Cecilia broke down, "What am I to you...am I just another bimbo...am I that much of a dead weight to you-"

"How are you dead weight again?" He asked.

"Did you want me to disappear?...did I do you so wrong?...I guess it's better we never me-"

At that point, Sokoto was annoyed. He resorted to turning his brain off and slapped her, "SHUT YOUR FACE!"

"Eep!" Cecilia recoiled in terror, but Sokoto would not have it. He wrestled her to the ground and force fed her the words, "Read. My. Lips," he stabbed her chest with his finger, "YOU! ARE! YOU!" After that, he was all heart and no brain, "You were you before you set foot in this smelly hell hole, and you're still you now! You've always been you! You are not worthless! You are not deadweight! You are not a plaything for anybody! YOU! ARE! YOU!"

"I'm...me?..."

"Oh, fuck me. Why am I telling you this?! You're taller and older than me, and you still have no fucking clue what your identity is?! Can you remember anything you did before you wound up here?! Yes! YES! Because you clearly remember this...Ichi...guy or whatever his name is, and all the good times you had with him! WHY AREN'T THEY A GOOD THING TO YOU?! Why do you get depressed when you think about them?! Just...NO! NO!"

"But...I'm...filthy...defiled...I can't go out there anymore-"

"Since when the fuck did you let that tell you what to do?!" He got real pissed, "Alright, I'm done," He grabbed a puddle of not yogurt and held it to her eyes, "This is not you! You are not Sour Vanilla! The stuff that apparently gets crusty after sitting on its ass doing nothing and they mop it all away because nobody wants them! Be ice cream! Be a sweet vanilla scoop! Wait, no! You don't have to! YOU ALREADY ARE! You have people outside waiting for you! You matter! Ain't you got unfinished business or whatever?!"

Cecilia was just in shock of what she heard. She had to ale a moment to swallow that pill. Sokoto let go. And got no movement for half a minute.

"Oh my god, it's a Witled Disney," Sokoto dropped everything and deployed his IS, "Look. Think over it. Door's right here. I got people to save, ok?"

"Huh?" Cecilia finally showed some reaction, "You're leaving me alone?..."

Sokoto mashed his hand on his face and showed her the door, "Do you want to come with me so that you're not alone?"

Cecilia tried to make up her mind but was cut off by Sokoto.

"Yep. Thought so." He IB'd out into the next room across.

Cecilia stayed in the room, staring at the open door and the horrible sounds coming through, pondering exactly what she just heard. She thought back to her glory days as a Representative Candidate, how she felt around her friends. She was a different person back then, and she swore never to let anything happen hold her down. Now here she was, alone in a dank room, a couple hours ago threw away whatever hope she had left, only for it to be thrown back in her face. She slowly, mindlessly walked out and observed the chaos in front of her. The renegade was punching whatever he felt like, while one of her sworn enemies, Autumn, was leading the girls to safety. She even saw the renegade clear out a path for everyone. Her entire world has gone topsy-turvy. What was wrong with her? She didn't know. But she heard something outside beckoning her to come.

Then, there were several instances where the renegade caught sight of her and protected her from the stream of bullets coming from some of the male soldiers. In the same manner that Ichika protected her in a raid on the old Phantom Task. She would have major deja vu flashes until she was in front of the compound's exit gates.

"Hey! Can you fight?!" Sokoto called out to her, not caring about anything else but getting these people to safety.

"Huh?!" Cecilia was suddenly aware of her surroundings, "Um...I-"

"You can process everything in your mind later! Can you fight?!"

"Uh...yeah, I can fight."

"Good," Sokoto clenched his metal fists, "Suit up." He turned to Autumn, "Gather everyone to me now!"

"Ok, girls," Autumn said, "He's going to get you out of here, but we all have to stay together. Understand?" She gave each one a weapons she found in the stockpile area, "Don't shoot unless you really have to, ok?"

All the girls held were scared. They were subjected to the punishment that Cecilia endured, and they heard that the renegade would wipe out all females. Autumn assured them that he would never do that. The renegade himself was giving clothes he could find to the girls who needed them. None of them asked Cecilia about anything. Which made her wonder even more if this was the world she knew. Criminals and fugitives helping out prisoners who didn't deserve to be prisoners.

"Yo!" Sokoto interrupted her thinks.

"YIPE!" Cecilia yelped.

"Oooooo...k, then. I need you to go over to that spot."

"Sure..." her mind was really fried that nothing mattered. She'll just tag along and see how this plays out.

"Autumn, take rear right," Sokoto said, "I'll take point."

"You sure about this?" Autumn asked.

"Nope," he shrugged, "but what's our loss?"

"Yeah..." she took her position.

"Alright, listen up!" Sokoto held the unconscious Madoka who thankfully has the mask back on, "The instant the doors open, it's gonna be freezy frosty, so make sure you're bundled up! In a minute, you're gonna see jump up in the sky and shoot a giant FUCK YOU laser down to the ground! That's your cue to move out! Whatever you do, remember these three things: don't stop firing, stay within the triangle, and do not move beyond jogging speed! I'll stay in the sky and be the eyes! Autumn and Cecilia will watch your backs! There's a lot of commotion out there, so those people came on boats! When we see water, you all board on at once, and everybody leaves at the same time! Clear?!"

Everyone responded nervously. Cecilia was very unsure of herself. Autumn had never had to protect a giant group of strangers before. Sokoto was busy channeling Madoka's words inside him. He had to get really angry for this plan to work. He figured that all will focus on him because he's very wanted. While he took the hit, everyone else will escape. That's what he hoped.

"Positions!" He yelled.

Everyone got ready. The girls had to calm their nerves if they wanted to make it out alive. They were distraught by what happened to them that they would rejoice when they saw the light, but can't. Not yet anyway.

He counted down, "3!" The girls gripped their guns. "2!" Autumn prepared her wings for nonstop bellowing. "1!" Cecilia readied her rifle and drones. Sokoto smacked the switch to open the gate. The bright light blinded everyone inside. But not Sokoto. He got all the blind fury he needed.

 **-COMPOUND EXTERIOR, 13:45-**

The clearing was a mess. The SWATs, compound officials, UN, and Special Ops forces have converged, fighting each other over who gets the renegade. SWAT teams flew in because of a distress signal about hostages, UN because they have to capture the renegade, SpecOps because...well...and the compound officials because they do not want their secret exposed. So far, no one has found a way in. But all that changed when they saw a door open up. Everyone stopped shooting and waited for the first word to be said.

It wasn't a word. It was the renegade, with the stolen Silver Streamline. He stepped into the open, eyes down, carrying a body.

"No..." a SWAT member mumbled, "Not him..."

"You see!" A compound man shouted, "The renegade has come to deliver us from your womanly pitfalls! All of you! Stop now and bow down before the male might!"

"SHUT UP!" The renegade shouted.

"You couldn't even trick us with that Japan stunt!" A SpecOps woman said, "You're the one who needs to shut up!"

"Is that what you think this is?!" The renegade demanded, "Is that all this is to you?!"

The UN stayed silent. The SpecOps got ready to fire. The SWAT began to evacuate.

But the compound men really said it, "Yes! You are the anomaly to finally put the sows in their place! Why don't you embrace it! We've done everything for this moment!"

The entire island held its breath for the renegade's next words. Then he caught everyone off guard.

"Give you credit. You did one thing right."

Everyone tensed up. Fingers on the triggers, preparing to fire.

Then, he dropped the body on the ground. He looked up with anger unknown to anyone here, "You've MADE ME MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

His IS emitted powerful shockwaves, knocking the snow off the nearby trees and bushes. The compound men cowered. A UN chopper pilot got a reading on the insane phenomenon. "Oh no..." she quivered, "It's powering up..."

"What?" A crew member said, "The Hell is that even possible?!"

Then, without warning, he leaped up and hovered a hundred feet in the air. He put one of his palms on the back of the other hand, steadied them at chest level, then thrust forward with all his might.

 **-COMPOUND EXIT, 13:50-**

Everyone inside saw the giant yellow laser blasting out of the renegade's hands.

"Whoa..." Cecilia was frightened, "That's some firepower..."

"Let's hope he doesn't waste it..." Autumn began unleashing her nonstop wind blades, "THAT'S OUR SIGNAL! GO GO GO!"

"Come on, then!" Cecilia shouted, "Shoot at everyone and don't stop moving!"

The girls just fired their guns at whoever and ran out, with Cecilia and Autumn tagging behind.

 **-CLEARING, 13:51-**

The compound men were furious. So many girls running out. "How did they escape?!" A man shouted.

"Doesn't matter!" The officer responded, "Shoot them down-UGH..." before he was shot down.

The SpecOps grew fearful of the renegade's power and immediately targeted him with rockets and bullets.

The SWAT team was confused.

"Are you seeing this?" A member asked hiding in the bushes.

"Seeing..." someone else said, "Still working on believing..."

But the UN rapidly pieced it together. One of the officers called out to its squad members, "Do not shoot! Repeat, do not shoot! Priority change! This is now a rescue mission! Get all girls to Mistissini immediately!"

 **-MISTISSINI CLINICAL LODGE, 13:54-**

"The absolute assness..." Tatenashi mumbled while staring at the live coverage of everything she planned come to fruition in a very Gallic way. She was trapped inside medical casts after the skirmish last night, while Forte only suffered minor injuries.

"You asked me to reflect on my true feelings, lady," Forte groaned, "Something you basically never do..."

"And you went with death maid?..."

"Yep...I really wanted to make Autumn suffer, though..."

"Wait till tonight," Tatenashi took a pillow from her head and put it on her leg, "You'll be in better shape than if you leave now...oh my god, look. At what Tabane did to the thing."

Forte stared at the live feed in awe, "Well...she's a fan of fist fights..." she pinned her elbow on Tatenashi's knee.

"AAAAH! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ahhhhhh..." the elbow came off.

"Can I?"

"No."

"Hmph." Forte rolled away from her. But she couldn't resist asking, "Bee tee double you...what's all this for?"

"What?" Tatenashi moved into the bed a bit, "Just wanted to teach Cecilia a lesson-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got that. Anything else?"

It was at that point that Tatenashi smiled and opened her fan. It showed the word "godmother" for some unexplainable reason.

"Calling a king home..." she muttered.


	4. The Heart is a Bitch

_Part 4: The Heart is a Bitch_

 **-13:54-**

Madoka slowly woke up amidst the chaos in the clearing. She put her head up and looked around her. Two men ran to her and kicked her down.

"Stay down, bitch!" Was what one man said before he was impaled by a giant hook. The pilot who shot it grappled down, slamming his fist in the other man's shoulder, severely dislocating it. The man twitched in agony as he curled down and faced the pilot who did this to him.

"Why?..." the man begged, "Why are you doing this...the men are supposed to rule the women! WHY CAN YOU NOT ACCEPT THAT?!"

The renegade simply planted his cold foot on his chest, "'Cuz I'm too human to be a man." He fired up his IB and split the man's sides wide open.

Madoka barely caught a glimpse, but she could tell it was him, "Uhhhh...rene...gade?..."

He was about to say something when the two SpecOps pilots charged him and pushed him into the sky.

Madoka looked up, "What's he doing here..."

Silvia popped up in front of her face, "He's here to save your sorry ass from Hell!"

"YO!" Madoka yelped, "What the fuck are you?!"

"Never mind who I am!" Silvia piped, "Just get up, get that gun, and get the hell outta here!"

Madoka looked up at Sokoto, fighting for his life against overwhelming odds, taking all kinds of punishment while the others flee with their lives. She simply thought, "Why..."

"WHY ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THIS?!" Silvia screamed, "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO ESCAPE! RUN! LEAVE! VAMOOSE! WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING?!"

"Why bother?" Madoka just went with it, "I couldn't beat Chifuyu...I couldn't beat Ichika...I can't even beat a tiny little whelp..."

"A tiny little whelp WHO CAME TO SAVE YOU! HELLOOOOOOO?!"

"Save me...he damn near killed me..."

"That's because you weren't right in the noggin!" Silvia banged on Madoka's head, "We wasted our One-Off Ability on you because you weren't thinking straight!"

"It's him who's not straight!" Madoka snapped, "He forgot what we did in Mt Fuji! Just threw it all away for ten minutes of stardom! He couldn't care less about what he shares if it meant-"

Madoka suddenly realized her mistake. She was selfish, more so than the renegade. So selfish that she never thought of joining him on his daily adventure because that's not what she wanted.

Silvia found another and rubbed vinegar on the wound, "If you knew that, why didn't you tell him?"

"Ugh..." another symptom of being wrapped up in your own problems. You don't think to tell the person what you feel. Not once did she try to open up to Chifuyu. She tried opening up to Ichika and the other girls, to very little avail. She opened up to Sokoto, but it didn't last very long. Did she ever think about just...making a move at the right time?

"Ok, I'm taking over this ship," Silvia got irritated and tried to kickstart the Black Knight by holding her hands out, REPAIR MODE. SHIELD DEPLETED. HEAVY DAMAGE TO SHIELD BITS AND TORSO. "Oh, I forgot-EEK!"

Without warning, Madoka grabbed a gun and helmet from the nearest dead man. Then, she ran after the escapees.

"What are we doing?!" Silvia stuttered while bouncing up and down on Madoka's shoulder.

"Just shut up," Madoka said as she gunned down two men who tried to shoot at the group.

"What the-" Cecilia looked back.

"Huh?" Autumn recognized that shaggy hair, "M?!"

"Fuck are y'all doing?" Madoka screamed, "GO!" And the girls charged ahead, with Cecilia and Autumn rallying the group for a hearty assault.

Sokoto held his own against the two pilots, blowing back attack after attack. They constantly used their guns on him, but he managed to avoid them. One of them had the bright idea to start targeting the people on the ground.

"Where are you aiming?!"

"The collective perverts!"

"Wait! They're women, just like us!"

"They're no longer women! They're pigs! Just like the renegade!"

She fired on them, but Autumn managed to blow the bullets back with her wing gusts. He found out what that pilot tried to do and really let her have it. He charged up a Gallic gun to his maximum power, and fired it along with his grappling hook. It hit her in a flash. First an explosion, then a yank, and finally, a punch that caused an even bigger explosion. It didn't destroy the pilot's IS, but it knocked her out. He IB'd towards the other pilot and delivered a blistering gut punch. Then he grabbed her shoulders and IB'd her into the ground, right where some compound men were about to fire off. The group managed to defend itself and fight its way to the boats with no casualties.

Boats, and helicopters, occupied by UN and SpecOps...

"Hey, what are they doing?!" A girl shouted.

"Are they gonna sabotage those?!" Another said. Cecilia sent her drones out to investigate.

"Hold it! Hold your fire!" One of the women waved her hands, "We're not hostiles!"

The group stopped and held its weapons steady.

"Weapons down, everyone!" Cecilia stepped forward, "this one's mine."

"No way..." the woman gasped, "We thought you'd never make it..."

"Well, thanks to the renegade...unfortunately, I did," Cecilia said, "And I need you to get everyone here to Mount Royal Park."

"Uh...yes, milady..." she turned back and ordered everyone to prep everything.

"Who are they?" A girl asked.

"British special forces," Cecilia answered, "They answer only to the director. But why did he send them here?"

"Hey!" A woman shouted, "Everything's ready! Board up!"

Autumn moved to the front, "Let's go, one at a time." She settled everyone in the boats while Cecilia secured the helicopters. It was a quick five minutes before Autumn realized, "Wait! Where's Madoka?!"

"Who?"

"Madoka, the girl with the creepy mask-"

A giant explosion rocked the island. They saw the renegade fired his laser a third time.

"We need to go! Now!" Cecilia commanded, "Everyone's been accounted for! Move!"

"But we can't just leave Madoka or Sokoto behind!" Autumn protested.

"Then, you can stay with them! I'm leaving!" Cecilia hovered in the center of the fleet.

A UN agent was about to suggest, "Perhaps we should wait for the-"

"DRIVE." Cecilia pointed her gun at her. The three copters left first, followed by five boats.

Autumn watched over the rear of the fleet. She watched the island drift further away from her, "Dammit, Madoka...the hell are you on about now?..."

Madoka was on about killing as many people who didn't leave the island as possible. She needed an outlet for her confused emotions to set themselves straight, and seeing the agony on her captors' faces put her at ease. She didn't care who it was. She just wanted to kill. She needed to think about how she really wanted to feel about the renegade and how to permanently get his attention, since he was the only person who didn't give a damn about what or who she looked like. She was about to kill another stream of soldiers, when he swooped down and blocked all of them. She changed targets and pelted him.

"Stop it," he shot an energy blast from his palm and destroyed her gun.

"No, seriously!" Madoka screamed, "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Trying to save your lazy ass!" He looked around him, "Though that seems pointless since everyone else left already!"

"Save me?! Hahahahahaaaaa! I didn't need to be saved! I got everything I could ever want! Then you came along and fucking ruined it all!"

"You scarred your face for what?! To look like someone else?! They can't make a new face outta thin air!"

"It ain't just the face!"

"Then, what?! What is it?! The pain of being cast aside? Lady! I was like two or three when my mom tried to kill me outta spite!"

"It ain't the same thing! I can remember when my parents threw me out when they became obsessed with how I looked like Demon woman!"

"Again with the face?! What is with your face?!"

"You..." Madoka was at wit's end. She ran out of excuses and couldn't find another one. She wanted to kill, but it was clear he would not let this go, "You wouldn't understand..."

Until he heard his most hated phrase ever. Everyone who said that to him, he asked if they could help him understand. To which they replied, "Why should I?"

Not this time. He would not have it. It was clear to her that he REALLY will not let this go. He retracted everything except his left arm, the grapple hook arm. He aimed it at Madoka, "Alright. I don't understand. Can you help me understand?"

Madoka twitched. How could she make her understand? Did she understand her issues well enough to explain to him so that he could understand? What kind of paradox did she trap herself in, and for how long? Not a comfortable situation at all.

Finally, Sokoto saw Madoka's aura choose one color. Deep blue. No words. Just tears. That's three times Sokoto done her wrong now.

Then everything turned to black. His IS was gone. The whole world was gone.

"Hey!" Sokoto swerved his body all around, "Where are we?!"

"You're in IS subspace," Silvia walked behind him, who was suddenly taller than him.

"Uhhhh...why?..."

"Why what?"

"Why am I here?" Sokoto looked down, "AND WHY AM I SUDDENLY SHORTER?!" Suddenly, he heard sobbing.

"That's why," Silvia pointed to a younger version of Madoka, who had fallen on her knees and broken down.

"What about her?" Sokoto asked rather insensitively.

"You asked her to help you understand," Silvia pushed him forward, "Well, go ask her."

"What?! Ain't we gotta win something to safety right now?!"

"Ain't you the one that said you gotta grow up?"

Sokoto gulped. With those words, he just figured out how Silvia gained a consciousness and a physical manifestation of the IS. His rants, his interactions, and his wacky antics. The Streamline recorded everything during lockout, and reconstructed its system using that data. Thanks to that, he has a twin sister, who has way more empathy than he does.

"Now, go," Silvia shooed him out, "You broke her. Again. Now fix her." And disappeared.

"Great..." Sokoto has been known to be quite the talker. But this was one area he falls flat on. He encountered this before, but Madoka had it set on him. The other way around just doesn't work. But he had no choice. If he wanted to get back to the real world, he has to conquer this world. He slowly approached her. He could see she was lost in her own sorrow. He doubted she would hear him, but he tried anyw-

"Hi, friend...how are you..." The renegade, ladies and gentlemen. The fucking renegade.

Madoka heard him and looked up. She promptly turned her back to him, "Go away! Leave me alone!"

Sokoto just walked to her. And sat there, observing every drop of liquid that left her eyes and listening to her sobs and sniffles. He had never seen this before. At all. He didn't know what to do, and saying his usual brand of common sense would only do more damage. He chose not to say anything. He also chose not to leave her side. Instead, he opted to put his hand on her shoulder.

She felt it, "Didn't you hear me?! I said leave me alone!" She tried to wag his hand away, but his grip tightened.

And it was through that grip that he sensed a deeper anger within her. He had to bring it out and expel it in order to talk some sense into her.

Which meant... "You're gonna have to make me."

She smacked him in the jaw. He bent backwards a little bit, but he still held on. She broke his arm and snapped it off her, but he remained still. She kicked him, but he stayed up. She kicked him harder, pushing him to the ground. He spat out some blood and got back up, only to suffer an uppercut that sent him back several feet. Still, he brushed it off and got up.

He spat and said, "You done?"

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!" She screamed.

"Because you don't want to be alone, do you?" He walked steadily.

"You don't know me!"

He just kept walking, "Do you want me to know you more?"

"NO! STAY AWAY!" She met him halfway and punched his gut. She bent him over within her reach to kick him back.

He staggered as he endured another beating. No matter how long or how hard she beat him, he never went down. After five minutes, she had to catch her breath. She panted as he straightened himself out. His body was immensely sore from nonstop punishment. Yet, he still maintained his gaze.

"Why..." she said as she realized nothing got through to his dense skull, "why won't you let me be..."

He went back to his first meeting with Silvia to come up with a response. The words echoed in his head, "They wanted you to love them, but you got all wrapped up in this Heroes of Canada business that you'd forget whatever you learned the previous hour." They resonated his feelings outward, and he realized what he was about to say hurt more than any knife in the world. He braced himself and just let the words out:

"'Cuz I...I love you too much to let you be..."

That physically hurt him to say. But he didn't let it show. Unlike Madoka. That emotionally hurt her to hear. And she let it fuel her anger.

"Love?...what...LOVE?..." she went bonkers, "Heheheheheheh...Hahahahahahahahaha! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAA! Hahahahahahahah..." she emptied out her disbelief, then took a deep breath, "HOW HILARIOUS! ALL OF IT!"

"Oh, I've taken too long alreadUGH-" he was blindsided by her surprise kick. He was forced to the ground when she got his knees. She kicked him and put him on his back, and immediately slammed her fist into his groin.

But it didn't stop there, "LOVE, YOU SAY?! DON'T MAKE ME GAG!" She unloaded her heart and kept pounding away at him, "WHERE'S THE LOVE YOU SPEAK OF?! WHERE?! WAS IT AT THE MARATHON?! THE STADIUM?! THE VOLCANO?! THE DEAD PERSON?! WHERE?! I STOPPED CARING! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE TRIED TO CARE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT FROM THAT LADIES MAN DONKEY! I THOUGHT YOU SAW ME FOR ME! WHAT AM I TO YOU?! AM I JUST ANOTHER UNKNOWING BYSTANDER?! ANOTHER CLONE, AN INCOMPLETE COPY OF A BETTER PERSON?!"

The wailing suddenly stopped. Sokoto opened his eyes to see what happened.

Madoka emptied out her anger. There was nothing left but sadness. She lost herself as she wept, "...what...what am I?..."

Now, she's ready to talk. But Sokoto couldn't feel his bludgeoned body. The best he could do was exhale and mouth the words, "...you...are...you..."

"I'm...me..." she repeated the words, but found no meaning behind them, "but I don't know who me is..."

"It's whoever...you want to be..."

"I don't know...I don't know what I want to be..."

"Then...be...Madoka..."

"Mad..." she was confused.

"Yes...you are Madoka...you are you..." he generated enough strength to place his hand on her shoulder, "...and I...will never...leave you alone..."

Madoka reached for his hand and cuddled it, "...stupid..."

"I know...I want to love you for you... but you have to try..." he recovered enough to sit up, "you cannot be anyone other than you...just like no one can be you...You are Madoka...You should be Madoka..."

"Stop...just stop..." Madoka hugged his chest, "I get it...I get it...just...why now..."

"Because you had to take the lead..." he hugged her back.

She buried her face in his chest, "So stupid..."

He let her cry her feelings out until she got tired and fell asleep. Then he hoisted her onto his arms. He thought she never looked so peaceful, until the entire world was engulfed in white light.

He was back in the real world, perfectly contained within his IS. She was sleeping despite the damage around them. He held her close to his head, while Silvia looked on with an approving nod.

"YOU TRAITOR!" A compound officer who survived the onslaught shot a rocket at them. Sokoto jumped and took the hit, floating several feet forward without falling over. He cast a side glare at the man. The man fired another. Sokoto avoided it by flipping over and IB'ing his foot into the man's face. The man skid to a stop fifty yards away. He blew out a lot of air and coughed up a lot of fluid before being stomped on.

"You...are not...male..." he sputtered his last words, "You're a pizda...you don't care about men at all..."

"Can anybody else hear this?" Sokoto asked.

"Everyone...in my homeland...knows you are a fake..." he chuckled.

"Well, then," Sokoto leaned in closer, crushing the man's chest as a result, "Get it through your impenetrable skulls. I'm too human to be a man." And he IB'd into the air, effectively ending the man's life.

"We can handle this island now," a SWAT member suddenly radioed on his channel, "Go help the others!"

"Understood," Sokoto said before rocketing out to Autumn.

 **-14:00-**

Cecilia and Autumn were thinking about her own problems. Autumn was relieved, but confused. Did she really see Squall inside of him? And was that all she saw?

Cecilia was trying to process everything that just happened, but couldn't, not when she has to safeguard about a hundred captives, who were scared and have no certain future beyond the lake, and 25 agents, who were tense ever since they got here. She couldn't afford to be distracted. Especially since she noticed several boats things approaching.

"Are they friendly?" She asked.

"Dunno..." one of the agents responded.

She took the front and focused her rifle like a magnifying glass. She saw one of the boats shooting something up into the sky.

"THEY'RE HOSTILE!" Autumn suddenly jumped in front of Cecilia and blew the thing away from the group. It exploded and shattered into multiple fragments, causing a small amount of damage to every chopper and boat.

Cecilia sent her drones to pursue the force and stayed back to defend the group, "Empty everything we have on her!" But just as she was about take aim, she was hit with a rocket and several Gatling bullets. "What the..." she took another look into her scope, "BritSpecOps?!" She moved out to call off their assault, "Wait! We're not enemies! We have refugees among us!"

"That matters not!" The squad leader said, "The only thing that matters is that you and the rest of your entourage have been collaborating with the renegade and are thereby excommunicated!"

"Ex...wha..." Cecilia didn't know that being rescued by him would result in her termination. Or rather, she forgot. Such is the way of the British elite. She suffered a frag bomb and was blown back to Autumn.

All the opposition boats fired frag grenades directly at the group. Autumn blew several grenades off target, while Cecilia and her drones destroyed the rest of them. Except two, which slipped past Autumn's reach. Cecilia jumped in front and shielded the group. But she only blocked one. The other went straight for the boats. It was about to hit-

"GET ADONG, LITTLE LOGGIE!" Sokoto shrieked as he blasted off a laser from behind, destroying the grenade and disintegrating all frags.

"Huh?" Cecilia whirled around.

The renegade flew right past her, once again brimming with the exact same idiotic playful tenacity and bright sparkling eyes he had the first time she encountered him. He stuck his middle finger up, "Vitrolic a STROKE!" and jammed it down the middle of a SpecOps boat. He went back and flung himself through another boat, and resurfaced through another.

"Heheeey!" Autumn cheered, "He's back!"

The girls cheered when they saw him save them from the wrath of the British. He went back and joined Autumn's side, "I trust everything went according to plan?"

"What plan?" Autumn asked.

"The one where we lose our minds!" He pushed Autumn aside and shot down a rocket with a palmar blast.

Six boats surrounding the group now. Two minutes to touchdown. The pilots now faced a dilemma.

"This is your only warning, renegade!" A SpecOps agent yelled, "Surrender now, or face our wrath!"

There was only one way out of this mess. And none of them had the mind to do it. But they had no choice. Silvia communicated to all of them, "On my mark!" They diverted a huge chunk of energy to their ranged weapons and got ready to unleash.

"And what about the other girls above me?" Sokoto shouted, buying Autumn and Cecilia enough time to lock on.

"They are irrelevant! We are only here for you!" The officer yelled, "All units-"

"NOW!" Silvia screamed.

Cecilia shot the engine off a boat while her drones shot down another. Autumn fired wind blades and literally cut down her two. Sokoto fired energy blasts at his targets' engines. Within two seconds, all six boats exploded simultaneously.

"Is it done?" Autumn panted nervously, "Are we clear?"

Sokoto touched the water. He couldn't find any auras except the concerned group in Mistissini, "I think so. I think we can breathe now..."

Everyone took a collective deep breath. Sokoto retracted his IS and slumped into the boat where Madoka was sleeping. Finally, it was over. He lay on the Madoka pillow and took a quick nap.

 **-MISTISSINI CLINICAL LODGE, QUÉBEC PROVINCE; 15:45, 3** **HOURS 15 MINUTES TO SHOWCASE-**

Never mind the fact that over 100 girls have been rescued from a startling discovery and were now resting at the town, exploring the strange woods and cozy cabins that comprised the populace's homes. And definitely never mind the fact that the renegade just live streamed the aftermath of the mission and told the internet to find them at the Top Gun event later tonight. Cecilia spent her time in the clinic in serious deep thought. She reflected on her mental breakdown back on that island, and how she was yanked out of the pits of despair by the pipsqueak she swore absolute vengeance on. She set foot in a world where women went from being at the heels of greatness to being the heels of cruel masters who treated them like rag dolls. Of which, Charlotte Dunois, her dear friend and former IS Representative Contender of France, was now held captive. Topped with her excommunication for merely allowing the renegade to rescue her, and mashed with the fact that he resembled Ichika in more ways than one...wait. What did she try on him when they were in that room?!

"I really did that..." she curled her knees to her chin, "I really said all that, didn't I..."

"COOTIE WOMAN!" He yanked the curtains open.

Cecilia yelped off the bed.

"Sorry...didn't mean to scare you..." he said blankly.

She muffled something in her pillow.

"Huh?" He leaned in clo-

She propped her head up, "I said it doesn't matter what I am...any...more..."

Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

Cecilia blushed because he has the same eyes as hers, on top of everything else, and Sokoto blushed because of her shirt. And face. They held that stare for a whole minute before she leaned back, "You want to...finish what we started?..."

Just then, they heard the grudge croak and crack its body upright.

"DEEEEMOOOOOOOOON!" Sokoto and Cecilia latched onto and squeezed each other's bravery out.

"I thought so..." Madoka's voice came out.

"Ugh...whew!" Sokoto let go, "For a second...we...ah, poop deck."

"Heheh...you're too easy, you know that?"

"EH?!" Cecilia could not even. Did...did Madoka just make a JOKE?!

"Are you gonna get that mask off, soon?" Sokoto asked.

"Not yet," Madoka laid back on her bed, "They're gonna have a surgical team come here and do me in a few."

"Oh...so, what face are you gonna go with?"

Madoka thought before turning away, "Nunya."

"Hey!" Sokoto popped a vein, "You tell me what face you're gonna wear, woman!"

Cecilia pacified him by patting his shoulder, "She's had a rough day. Let's just give her time to prepare." She said before she realized what she just said.

"Cece! Soki!" Silvia suddenly materialized in front of them, "Time to make like moki!"

"Huh?"

"Everyone's ready! Let's go!" And she fizzled back outside.

"Oh," Sokoto scratched his head, "Well, we better get going, eh?" And darted out the door.

Cecilia had to turn off her brain to maintain her composure. She could write a novel on the many deja vu parallels between the renegade and Ichika from this week alone. In half the time. She brushed herself off and went out.

Madoka made sure the room was empty, and everyone was gone before finally exhaling a lot of air...

"...fucking hellish shit..." ... and breaking into tears again, "You never fucking listen...Just...leave me alone..."

She really wanted to kill someone now. She wanted to, but her heart conflicted with her mind conflicted with her soul conflicted with her heart, in every aspect of her being. She wanted to strangle him for his time with Kanzashi; she wanted to find the truth behind that little nugget. She wanted to hate his guts; she wanted to get to know him more. She wanted to stay out of everything; she wanted more of that fuzzy feeling. She wanted to end it all; she wanted to see her future to the end. She wanted to be alone; she wanted to talk it all out. She wanted to cannibalize that selfish retard; she wanted to "eat" him up and keep him to herself.

She wanted to keep her original face; she wanted to look like Sokoto.

"What should I do..." Madoka sobbed as she waited for the surgeons to arrive.


	5. Electric Angel

_Part 5: Electric Angel_

 **-MOUNT ROYAL PARK, QUÉBEC PROVINCE; 18:57, 3 MINUTES TO SHOWCASE-**

The stage was set. The crowd was abuzz. The crew stood at the bottom of the platform, waiting for the distinguished guests to make their grand entrance. The two pioneers of the 6th Generation IS Units, the Canadian made Maple Slinger, and the England-Scotland collaboration Dream Duster, stood under the giant spotlights, showing off their pearlescent shine, state-of-the-art Ammo Blades, and holographic demos. The numerous performances helped to pass the time, but it wasn't enough to quell the tension. Yes, it was quite the anticipation. The park reached full capacity an hour before the pre-show, which Rachel and the Prime Minister found met their expectations. They were welcoming the audience when the time had come to start the show.

 **-19:00-**

"Citizens of our great country!" The Prime Minister began, "I welcome you all to the turning point in our nation's drought! For three and a half generations, we have been starving for a Representative to make our voices known in the world of the Infinite Stratos! Well, today is the day we end our drought!"

The audience went wild. Whoops and glee overtook the entire park.

"As I'm sure you are all aware," the PM continued, "our dear sister Cecilia Alcott has gone missing. We still have not yet heard word of her arrival, but we do pray she comes home just in time to see her efforts gone to fruition. Cecilia, we open our arms and pray for your return." More cheers. "Now, I would like to welcome the proud woman who will take her stead. Miss Rachel Weaver, the Countess of Canterbury, will give her opening remarks, and then commence the search for Canada's Next Top Gun!"

The crowd cheered and waved as he handed the mike to Rachel and her team.

"Hello, Canada!" Rachel announced, "Are you ready for the prime time search of the century?!" Wild cheering and hopping up and down. "Before we begin, though, I'd like to take a moment to mourn for our loss. Cecilia was a dear friend, a worthy rival of mine. We always hit it off on the best terms. When she came to Canada, I followed her to make sure she was safe. I would've never imagined that she would be lost to us. May we always remember what she has done for us. Give us hope. Give us this wonderful setting, which will be forever etched into her legacy." Applause. "And now, let us bring Cecilia's legacy to a bombastic climax!" The crowd goes wild. "Let's start the search for Canada's Next-"

But just as she was about to finish, a burst of energy suddenly shot down from the sky. The people moved away to avoid impact, clearing a huge space for the person to land in. Someone used the laser to grapple to the park. The person landed with a fiery explosion to blind everyone until it dissipated. Rachel cleared her eyes to see who it was that interrupted her.

It was the renegade.

"You..." she growled.

"You yourself," the renegade responded.

Rachel's team locked guns and swords to him. He unfurled his wings and powered up.

The people were aghast. They knew he was a formidable force, but seeing it, the static streams of light emitted from his wings, the stance that defined the most seasoned warriors. They felt like they just witnessed an angel descend from heaven.

"And to what do I owe the displeasure of having you crash my pageant?" Rachel demanded.

"What?" the renegade turned behind him, "Ain't I allowed to party with my own people?!" The people cheered and waved, until someone else stopped them.

"You party with us!" It was the same man who propositioned the renegade back at the Border Diner.

"Not this shit again..." the renegade face palmed.

"He has come to teach you all a lesson in manhood-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT THE MANSPLANATION?!"

"No, we will not!" The second man butt in and strapped a newly made Canceller to him. Then he punched him and grabbed him by the neck, "You will join the cause one way or another! You will elevate the man out of the heels of the bitches!"

"I should've known you'd have horrid taste in friends," Rachel commented.

"Don't mock us, pig," a man said.

The renegade shoved him aside, "They're not with me. I'm here of my own volition."

"You can't expect me to believe that lie..." Rachel said as she readied her IS.

"Really?" The renegade pointed behind him, "Then explain that."

Several cars passed the audience, honking and shouting for a clear path to the renegade. And more than enough people recognized them.

"They're the Mistassini captives!"

"He saved them!"

"MY BABY! MY DARLING LITTLE ROSE!"

"My daughter!"

...were one-hundredth of one percent of how the crowd reacted.

The cars circled round the renegade, slowing to a halt when a yellow hologram signaled to stop. Everyone saw who was inside. UN agents, Canadian police, and the more than hundred captives, now rejoicing at their freedom.

The men were far from pleased. They whipped out their guns. But the renegade tore off the Canceller and bonked on their heads, conking them out. Several other men got the signal and took their guns out. They began to fire on the giant parade.

None of the bullets made it halfway. They were stopped by a Rainbow Unison Attack. A combination of burning rage, cunning, and a whole lotta energy. A pair of spinning lasers empowered with the blessing of wind and the keen eyes of two sentinels make for an impenetrable veil of color. The ones who caused the mini fireworks show landed. A luminous moth, and a slick black knight, each guarded by a loyal drone.

"Huh?!" Rachel immediately recognized those drones.

"Glad you could keep the sofa warm for me."

Everyone looked up to the sudden voice over. The spotlights swerved to the top of the stage lights. It was Cecilia Alcott!

"Sorry I'm late," she said while sitting back on her rifle, "I had to adjust to being excommunicated for helping a hundred women escape slavery."

The renegade expected everything except the black knight, "Madoka?! What are you doing here?!"

"Don't talk," she said, "Focus on this."

"Sure..." he said.

The men tried to reload, but the UN and the local police snuck up from behind and swept them away to jail. The two men woke up, only to see their efforts gone to waste.

"No...No! NOOOOOO-"

"Oh, get over it," Sokoto bonked one of them again, "Women may be vile, but men fall for women easily. Which makes men even worse now that I think about it-ah, who cares."

"You!" The other man screamed and ran, "I'll remember this! The day when the renegade betrayed his own people! We'll come for you!"

The renegade hovered up, then sacrificed nearly all of his energy to instantly teleport to just in front of the other man. He kneed him in the gut and keeled him over. "Then I suppose the male population is about to take a dip," he said as the man gasped in horror and was taken away by the police. The renegade straightened up and gave a thumbs up to his comrades, who returned with a hearty salute.

The crowd erupted in ecstasy. Seeing all of Phantom Task ally with, not only the UN Canada division, but also the now Former IS Representative, rescue the lost daughters of Canada and make the flashiest entrance known to mankind, sent them over the edge. They were so happy that the renegade had fulfilled his promise to the Canadian people, they forgot about why they were there in the first place and rushed out to savor and celebrate with the heroes, the angel and the guardians.

But Cecilia fired a mega-laser into the sky and stopped them, "Alright, settle down! We'll have a QA session after the ceremonies!" She hopped down and levitated to Rachel's side. "Now then, Rachel. I leave the rest to you." And then she walked forward, strutting her stuff as the spotlight turned to her. And she pulled off her supermodel swag, "Ok, boys and girls! Let's begin the search for Canada's Next Top Gun!" The fireworks that shot from the runway flipped her over into the dunk booth.

From then on, everything proceeded as a pageant. Over 160 girls were presented, along with their chosen outfits, their personal details they chose to share that they should not have chosen to share because the renegade now has an understanding of the women's psyche of the allure, and their test of the IS. Scientists acted as judges, taking note of the contestants' origins and backgrounds. When it came time to test the compatibility, all that was needed is to place a hand on both ISs, one at a time, and move it. Most of the applicants failed. Only 13 of them were able to move at least one of them to some degree. From the 13, 5 could command one of them with little effort, and just one could move them both to their fullest extent (nearly toppling the backdrop). Canada's IS policy allowed for up to three Representative Candidates, so one slot was easily filled. The other five were deemed finalists by the "judges", so it was up to the audience to decide who would be sent to the IS Academy. This led to a basic layout: a talent portion followed by two rounds of questions, asked by the "judges" and the audience. The judges had an easy time picking the second Candidate, but they turned to the audience for the third. The three selected candidates were to be sent to the IS Academy on a full ride, come winter term. After that, it was onto the festivities, consisting of endless celebrations, family reunions, insane QA, entertainment, food and drinks.

 **-20:33-**

After an exhausting half hour, Cecilia, Autumn, and Madoka finally got the chance to properly process their true feelings by staying out of the limelight while everyone soaked up the attention.

"This week has been nothing but shit hitting every single fan we try to turn on..." Madoka said.

"I know..." Cecilia had her head on the table, "Just sitting here with you lot is making me want to puke..."

"Take a number," Autumn sipped a Buttery Nipple, "I've got no problems here."

"Fuck you..." Madoka blurted.

"By the way," Cecilia asked, "when are you going to lose the creepy mask?"

"When I'm on the surgery table," Madoka leaned back, "I scarred my face so bad, the doctors don't have the materials needed in Mistissini. Right here's the nearest place to do it safely and securely."

"So that's why you decided to burst out of there..." Cecilia looked up.

"And why you chose to hide your heart," Autumn drank.

"Say..." Madoka pondered, "How did you come up with the Rainbow Veil entrance?"

Cecilia and Autumn twitched.

 **-CABOT SQUARE, 18:50-**

The people of Mistissini volunteered to carpool everyone to the Park since the UN didn't have enough vehicles to spare the extra girls. But by the time they arrived, there was no parking. So, they parked miles away.

"AAAAAAAGH! THE PARK'S COMPLETELY CONSTIPATED!" Sokoto tried to tear his hair out, "Now how are we gonna make our grand entrance?!"

"While you've been cursing the gods just now," Silvia said, "I've formulated an ingenious procedure guaranteed to safely transport all persons to the center of the park."

"Smart-ass..."

"Why is he talking to that hologram?" A girl asked.

"Just go with it," Autumn whispered, "It'll be over sooner that way."

"So," a UN agent hesitated, "what's this ingenious procedure you speak of?"

"Ok!" Silvia fizzled to her shoulder and clapped her hands, "Everyone except Autumn, Cecilia, and onii-chan, in your cars!"

Everyone let out a very well-deserved "HUH?"

Silvia took control of the Streamline and pointed the hook at them, "IN YOUR CARS AND DRIVE SLOW!"

The officers, drivers, and girls quickly made for the park. Autumn and Cecilia were dumbfounded. How did a mascot hologram take command of an IS?!

Sokoto retracted the arm, "The Hell was that for?!"

Silvia fizzled to his shoulder and did an oopsie pose.

"Uh..." Autumn spoke, "...what about us?..."

"Well, that's the problem," Silvia pulled up a radar that showed a purple devil emoji closing in on their location, "Madoka's coming."

"DAFUQ!" They all bellowed.

 **-PRESENT-**

"The Silver Streamline literally came alive..." Autumn muttered.

All three saw the spunky sprite answer questions about herself to scientists and partygoers alike, in exchange for turning the renegade into a human kissing booth. And the questions she couldn't answer, she had them referred to the copy of her data she so happily gave them.

"So, how did you gain a consciousness?" A scientist asked.

"I don't know for sure," Silvia thought out loud, "Onii-chan just kept taking to me like I was a living being. Even when he first rescued me from dismantlement, he made tons of friendly banter with me. I guess that's how I was able to unlock myself. It's like I knew him like he knew me. I only knew 1s and 0s until he introduced me to the concept of "I". I didn't know what he meant until we got separated. I internalized all his ramblings to prevent Tabane from fully taking me over. And when I heard him for the first time in a while...whew, that was a real good memory..."

"Does that meant if I talk to my IS a lot, it'll come to life?!" A pageant winner asked.

"Uh, it doesn't work like that," Silvia commented, "To even move an IS, I imagine you'd have to be able to connect with the thing on a deeply personal level the very instant you first touch it. Onii-chan touched a bunch of Gen 6s, but he couldn't move them, so that's a factor. I guess it boils down to making it your BFF when you first come into contact. The more you trust it with your life, the more it trusts you, the better you can move it."

"SILVIAAAAAAA! HEEEEEELLLLLLLP!" Sokoto was swarmed with pink and red lipstick, alcohol, and underwear.

"Hah-I don't trust him enough to bail him outta that mess, though!" Silvia scratched her head and chuckled.

"FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" Sokoto raged as he was dragged back into the mess.

All three stared. Once again, they had the answer to all their present problems forcefed to them, and they still had no idea how to digest it.

"Ugh...time for my surgery..." Madoka upped and left.

"Ichika was swarmed just like that when I finished a raid just like this..." Cecilia trailed off, "It was midterms when we got the call you kidnapped several students. We rushed over to see what happened, and I got mangled and shoved into a dark room. Took the class a week to bail me out."

"Yeah..." Autumn reflected, "Though you weren't doing nothing while I had you. You managed to slip a data-robbing program into the system. M was freaking out so much."

"Something about rage faces that makes it so satisfying..."

"Like the rage face Rachel gave out? She and her team swooped down with fireworks, and we stood her up with rainbow energy! She was so pissed!"

"Hahahaha! She just walked off like she got a zero!"

And the two shared a laugh and a sigh.

"So, this was all just a trip down memory lane?" Autumn asked.

"Yeah..." Cecilia replied, "a bad one. Christmas break, we got really angsty and forced him to choose a mate. He started to distance himself from us, so we decided to mudsling each other. It was only supposed to be a ploy, but our feelings became passive aggressive. I got captured, and everyone except Houki labeled me as lazy. Houki and Ichika saw how old this was getting and tried to comfort me, but that only made it worse."

"Like Chifuyu nagged them and him?"

"Yep."

"Hot damn," Autumn saw Rachel walking towards them, "British Lingyin, 3 o'clock."

Rachel stopped behind Cecilia, who deployed her drones in case she tried anything funny.

"Put...them...down..." Rachel demanded.

"Leave," Cecilia glared.

"We had a deal...I handled the renegade. You handled the event."

"I'm not going to bother with the Prime Minister's diamond box being laced with knockout gas. I firmly believe someone goaded him."

"That was your own fault. You were supposed to grow a brain. You were supposed to stay out of my way."

"And allow myself to be sold off like a sex toy?"

Rachel clammed up. She couldn't say anything more without ticking Cecilia off, "You have one more chance. There's a Disney attraction in île Sainte-Hélène. We will finish him there." And she just walked off.

But Cecilia didn't care she was given another chance to be reinstated, "And let me guess. It's a DisneySea prototype. Ugh," she banged her head on the table, "so, what's your story?"

"I'm just here to take him to England," Autumn said, "It was Squall's last request."

"You do everything she says?"

"Yeah...I really loved her. I would obey her without question because of it. Even when she shoved me into your fuck you lance, I still loved her. Ok, that was tough love, but still."

"The hell?" Cecilia leered at Autumn.

"I got real jealous when she started showing the renegade some love. But I just now figured out why: she knew she would die. She put a piece of her inside him. Well, that's my way of coping with it."

"Was she that important?"

"More than you know. She kept my inner psycho in check. Found me two years before I went to the Academy to nab the Byakushiki..."

"Psycho...You aren't going to kill anyone?"

"I got my fill with two prison camps worth of blood. I'll be satisfied for a long while."

"What about the renegade?"

"I don't know...he's more attractive to me now that he has Squall's soul in him... but there's that flexibility quirk of his that gets me. I tried to inflict torture on him once. He said it didn't feel like torture."

"Um..." what was Cecilia supposed to say to that...when someone says that a spiked whip feels like a massage, what's anybody supposed to say to that?

She suddenly got a text: Everything's ready! Come down to île Sainte-Hélène and get your revenge! Tata-shi *

"Where were you this whole time?!" She growled. She left and made for the island-

"IN COME BIG CAT BALL-" Sokoto slammed into her and toppled over. When they opened their eyes, they were once again trapped in that solitary time-space while everyone was thinking about how they could be an item. It sure looked that way.

"Uhhhh..." Sokoto duhhhh.

"Can you, uh...give me some space..." Cecilia moved him off and dusted herself off.

"I didn't...really, it-" Sokoto stammered.

"No, we're...we're ok, I think..."

"Ahhh, poor suckers..." Autumn said as she finished her drink and left them alone to contain their embarrassment. She floated away to the DisneySea prototype to meet with the bright moon.

 **-MOUNT ROYAL CEMETERY, 21:22-**

Rachel was angry. Very angry. This was not how it was supposed to happen. She was the center of attention, the one everyone will look to. She was the hero, whose legacy would overshadow Cecilia's. And it was supposed to stay that way, but no. Phantom Task had to ruin everything! They had to break Cecilia out to ruin her one chance of finishing the Alcott family for good! What's worse: the elite team, which she personally hand picked for the sole purpose of ending the renegade, pursued him throughout the entirety of Ontario and Québec, AND THEY STILL FAILED MISERABLY!

She made a phone call.

"Yes?" It was the Prime Minister on a encrypted line.

"You promised me the Alcott bitch would be out for good!" Rachel said.

"And you promised me you would take care of the renegade! Where were you when he touched down on Lac Mistassini?!"

"I didn't want to dirty my hands, so I sent Forte Sapphire to take him out!"

"Someone else got to him!"

"Not my problem!"

"Well, it will be now. Because he put down all my good men."

"You need better men. Fine, then I'll do what your dogs should have done!"

"You'd better." Connection terminated.

"Tch!" Rachel smashed her phone on the ground and stomped it broken. She vented out all her anger and quickly regained her composure, "Whatever...His reputation will be tarnished either way..."

She received another call. "What?"

"We have confirmed his presence at the DisneySea prototype. Your orders?"

"Wait for me." She hung up and made for the île, "Just you wait, you pigs. You will bow before me."

 **-MOUNT ROYAL PARK, 21:30-**

The Prime Minister stepped on stage and called the event over. Everyone in the park cheered and took their last selfies before leaving in high spirits. It was at last made clear that the Canadian drought was over. It will be remembered for years to come how the renegade and the Top Gun of the UK worked together to bring the light out of the depths of darkness and give Canada the chance it needed.

And that did not sit well with him. He called two of his security guards to him.

"Yes, Prime Minister?"

"Did you find out anything?" The PM asked.

"There was an abnormality in the data cache at Lloydminster," one of them replied, "Someone copied and made off with an entire exabyte of data."

"Damn...any idea who?"

"We couldn't get all the info of the intruder," the other replied, "but we have been able to determine that it was by an IS from Russia."

"She's going to the prototype to share the data with our Weaver friend, yes?"

"That is a strong possibility."

"Get all our best agents over there now," the Prime Minister commanded, "We cannot allow this game to drag on any longer."

The guards stepped aside to prepare for the attack on the île.

 **-ÎLE SAINTE-HÉLÈNE, 21:35-**

"Oh, good night..." Tatenashi lay in the center of the construction site, "What the fuck did I just do..."

She sent out messages to everyone, her Russian operatives, the UN agents, even Cecilia who most likely will never want anything to do with her ever again...they're all coming here. And she's going to stir up another mess, all because of rumors of Japan intensifying its pacifist policy. Couple that with the fact that the only word about her friends she heard from is her sister, who couldn't say much because she would be found out, too... and one wonders when the self-absorption begins.

"What am I thinking?" She said to herself, "Gotta stay focused."

"You come here often?" A guy and his friends suddenly walked up to her.

She sat up, "No. This is my first time here."

"Oh? Well, me and my friends could show you around the place."

She got smug and walked into the middle of the group, "Depends on where we start."

"Well," someone approached her from behind, "we could start at the fountain-"

Tatenashi smacked his hands with her fan, "Ok, rule number one. Never start with the boobular area." She opened her fan and used it to suave his arms around her stomach, while toning her voice down to playfully sneaky, "Assault or not, you always go for the core. Sway your girl to and fro. Make her feel helpless against you." She could tell that he was getting excited, and his friends were drooling with anticipation.

"You always this swanky?" One of them asked.

"Only when I had a bad day," she said. She put the fan, and her lips, to his neck, and everyone saw the word "teacher" in plain view.

She suddenly stopped his hands and walked towards the giant castle still in construction. She turned back to the men, "What do you say we move to somewhere more...public?"

They followed her to the castle.

"What are you gonna teach us?" One of the guys asked.

"Something mind blowing..." she could not wait to absolutely throttle them.

 _Yes. Tatenashi manipulated everything; she somehow managed to manipulate the renegade herself. Because of the data she recovered from Lloydminster, she has decided to make this hunt global. Just like the showdown and exposing prison scandal in Japan, everyone will see what goes down in Montreal. Including her friends, whose tension only increased since Mt. Fuji._

 _They will now have to deal with the fact that the renegade has uncovered what may lead to a play about a gigantic world scandal. That's twice he stood the audience up, and it will only get worse. The final act is upon them. The actors are gathering at the DisneySea prototype theatre, and Cecilia and Sokoto are center stage. Places everyone. The show will begin on the next episode of Infinite Stratos...Virus._


End file.
